The New Kid
by Pojko
Summary: Alternate Universe. At age 16, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable have never met, until now. Kim has been up to her usual world saving business, but what has Ron been doing? Something that Kim probably won't like.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: This is an alternate universe story, as the description said. Kim and Ron have never met… until now. I happen to think it will be rather unique, though that's just me as the author. Hopefully you guys and girls will enjoy the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible, and all that good stuff.

XXXXXXXXXX

This was turning into a real pain.

Once more, 16 year old teen hero Kim Possible had been called out on a mission. It's not that she didn't enjoy the missions, quite the opposite in fact. It was so thrilling, so exhilarating to her. She liked to help people in need. She was all about saving their worlds. On a regular basis she was out saving the world from freaks and villains bent on conquering the it. And every time she set out to stop them, barring some strange and unforeseen phenomenon, she won. She would always win. She could do anything.

But sometimes, just sometimes she just wanted to be a normal teenager. After all she was only a sophomore in high school. Was it too much to ask to just have a carefree life from time to time? Outside of the pressures of school that is. Then again there was absolutely nothing normal about her family in the first place. Especially the tweebs… Imagine if they eventually got into this. She shuddered at the thought.

Everything had been great so far that day. It was a cool early March day and she had been hanging out at her house with her best friend Monique after school, just as they did just about every day since she moved to Middleton. On this particular Friday they had been talking about pretty much everything, boys, fashion, school, music. And that's when the kimmunicator beeped.

"Hey Wade, what's the sitch?" Kim asked trying to conceal a sigh.

"Bad time?" The young boy asked.

"No… not really. I was just chilling with Monique."

"Sorry Kim, you know I try not to call you unless it's something important."

He was right. She knew it too. Good old Wade. Sure he may not have left his room much, or at all, she didn't really know all of the details. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to know the details. But he was still a true friend. One of her best friends in fact, despite the age difference.

If she could do anything, she didn't even know how to begin to describe Wade. He was nothing more than a child. Yet he had graduated from high school and college already. He ran her website, created all kinds of high tech weapons and tools for her missions, and supposedly was even working on some sort of high tech battle suit for her. It was still in it's early stages and would not be fully developed for about another year. She had decided not to press him for details.

"So what's going on?"

"A rumor's going around that there's going to be a break in at a-"

"Top secret lab?" She asked with a slight grin.

"Can't get anything past you." He replied with a similar satisfactory smile.

"Do you know what's being targeted?"

"Preliminary reports are that there is some sort of top secret computer program being worked on there. That would be your best bet."

"Where and when?"

"The good news is, it's just outside of Denver so it won't take long at all to get there. The bad news is, it's all going down in about a half hour."

Not exactly what she had wanted to hear. "So I take it my ride will be here shortly?"

"Like I said before, no fooling you Kim."

"Alright, I'll be ready in five." She said shutting off the screen of her kimmunicator.

She gave a look in Monique's direction who had overheard the entire conversation. She was already preparing to leave knowing exactly what the sitch was. It was nothing new, it came with the territory of being close to Kim Possible.

"Sorry Monique… looks like another day is being cut short because of my missions."

"It's cool Kim. I know that you do what you need to do." She replied with a look of understanding in her eyes. "Though sometimes I just wish you would consider letting me help you out on a mission from time to time. It might be easier to have a partner."

"You know I couldn't let you do that. It's too dangerous for someone who's untrained. Heck, it's even dangerous for me, and I've been studying martial arts for years now."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Just try to stay safe, okay?"

"So not the drama Monique. With any luck It'll be done in a couple hours and we can go out for smoothies when I get back."

"You're on."

XXXXXXXXXX

A local news helicopter had come minutes later to pick up a waiting Kim. Clad in her green cargo pants and black crop top she was prepared to go out and do what she does best, beat the bad guys. Climbing aboard and strapping herself in, the pilot took off and said that they would be reaching their destination in about thirty minutes. Kim silently hoped that she would get there in time. If she was dealing with a pro, a few minutes off might make all the difference. Not that she was used to dealing with pros on even a semi regular basis.

"Thanks for the lift Dan."

"Are you kidding? It was the least I could do after you helped sort out that monster traffic jam a few weeks ago." He replied sincerely.

"No big, anyone could have helped move that couch out of the middle of the highway." She said nonchalantly. "The only thing which surprised me was that the authorities were just standing by it not knowing what to do."

It was the same as usual. Strike up a casual, usually empty conversation with the person giving her a ride. Sure, she liked being appreciated. She liked it when people thanked her for her good deeds. But that really wasn't why she did what she did. Sadly the conversations usually only lasted for about five minutes. The rest of the time was spent in silence. This left Kim with time to think about many things. What if this was the mission where she really got hurt, or worse? There had been a few close calls in her career as a crime fighting teenager, mostly at the hands of her green skinned foe Shego. But every time Kim had come out the victor. There was no reason to doubt herself now. She knew this, but that still didn't stop her from wondering. As someone had once said, sometimes your mind is your real worst enemy.

She rested her head against the window of the chopper and gazed out at the surrounding terrain. So placid, so beautiful. The sun was still up, it was only around 5:30. Her plan was to be home by around 7:30, call Monique, and pick up where they had left off. She was definitely thinking about putting a bit of extra hurt on whoever was out there tonight, ruining her peaceful afternoon. Maybe that would teach them to go taking things that didn't belong to them.

The lab complex was fairly isolated from the rest of the surrounding area. It must have been for secrecy and security reasons, Kim mused to herself. She then laughed at that thought. Looks like that wasn't going to help tonight. Whoever had broken in was obviously aware of its presence. So the owners of the complex had gone to all of this work for nothing. Despite their best efforts, someone had found something valuable inside. Someone had discovered a way to get it. And now it was up to her to go out of her way to stop that someone. To her that was totally lame. Which wasn't at all surprising. Which was also totally, totally lame.

Kim quickly and quietly descended the rope she had tied to the landing skid of the helicopter. Her boots impacted on the ground below with a thud sending a small plume of dirt into the air. She rose up to her full height and shook her long red hair out of her face. Scanning the area she saw the door which led inside the main lab building. Approaching it she noticed that the door's lock and handle had somehow been taken off cleanly. It would have taken some very small hands, and small tools to pull off such a feat. But right now such trivial things did not concern her. She was in mission mode now. Her head was in the game. She had a single minded purpose to accomplish what she came to do. She would do it with the skill and grace that embodied the young woman she was. She was Kim Possible. She would not fail.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kneeling beside a large steel safe, he was continuing his work. Another night, another paycheck. That was all this was to him. After all the times he had gone out and done his missions, it had all become so routine. Go in, get what he came for, get out. And never once had he come close to being caught. He suddenly realized he had began humming a happy tune while he was working. Was it really this easy, really this fun to make the kind of money that he was?

It was funny how life worked sometimes. For much of his existence he had been a slacker, an underachiever. He battled with low self esteem, and was a textbook class clown. It was almost like he was missing some critical motivating factor in his life. Then one day back in seventh grade he had received a wakeup call. He had been failing in his math class. In a completely unexpected move, his math teacher began screaming at him after class. He went on and on about unused potential and how if he applied himself he could go far in life. The rather one-sided conversation had not fallen upon deaf ears.

Since that day he had worked hard to get his life back on track. He wasn't a straight A student, and probably never would be. But at least he had tried his best and his teachers took notice. He received praise from them like he had never expected to. For the first time in his life people started to believe in him. It made him feel good. His confidence grew until he eventually built up the courage to take that karate class he had been eyeing ever since he was a small child. He was surprisingly adept in the field of martial arts.

Since then he had developed his talents, and eventually found a strange line of work with a most unexpected character. It was completely accidental like many good things in life. What was that called again? Serendipity? This was a good thing, wasn't it? Of course it was. Good quick money without doing a lot of work. That was part of the American dream right? Thoughts of his past and how he had gotten to this point in his life often swirled in his head when he was on a mission.

The terrible image of the man garbed in bird feathers shot into his mind.

He shook his head trying to force the memory from his mind. He tried to cut off memories of his mistake right then and there, and get back to focusing on the task at hand. There would be other times to reminisce about how he had come to work for villains. That was when he heard a voice behind him.

"Step away from the safe. Now." The female voice said sternly.

A cold chill went down the mans spine. What was this? Someone knew he was here? But how?

"_I bet it's Drakken's fault." _Ron Stoppable thought bitterly to himself.

"Oh… I seem to have forgotten the combination to my safe." He said, not even looking up from his work.

Kim stared at the man kneeling beside the safe. This was not at all what she had been expecting. She had thought it would be one of her regulars. Drakken, Dementor, Killigan. Not this stranger. Whoever he was, he dressed surprisingly like her. The only difference was that his midsection wasn't exposed, and his pants were black. On his shoulders rested a black backpack. In his hands was a small blow torch, busily cutting through the steel shell of the safe. His face was hidden from her though for two reasons. His back was turned to her, and covering his face was a bulky welding mask. The only noticeable features she could detect on the man were his blonde hair and seemingly large ears.

"Last warning." She said. "Stop what you're doing, stand up, and face towards me."

"I would really rather not."

"Then it looks like I'm going to have to bring you in the hard way." She said dropping into a fighting stance.

"Why should we fight?" Ron asked innocently, again not looking up from what he was doing. "It accomplishes so little."

"Because…" She said, seemingly taken aback by his attitude. "It's part of the game. We meet, talk a little, fight, you lose, I go home. Were you expecting something else?"

"I would really rather not fight, I have a busy few days ahead of me. There's another job I have to do tomorrow, and on Monday I'm starting at a new school. I just got transferred there a few days ago when I moved."

Kim by now was beyond frustrated. Frustrated and admittedly very confused. No other villain she had even encountered had just brushed her off so easily. Normally they would have henchmen with them to fight her off. Normally they would go on some inane rant about their plot for world domination making it all the easier for her to stop them. But this man, no, not a man. He mentioned he was going to a new school? He was only a boy, probably no older than she was. This… Boy… Had not once even bothered to look at her while she was speaking. Even when she threatened him he was not distracted.

"This, this just isn't how things are done on a mission!" She said, clearly flustered.

"Ha ha… you remind me of Hego-" He chuckled.

"What?" She interrupted.

How did this boy know Hego? Even Kim had only met Hego once, and that was just to stop some freak named Aviarius from stealing the world's largest flamingo in the Go City zoo. He apparently was going to train it to become a guardian for his lair.

"Well you see, this one time a guy named Aviarius hired me to break into the Go Tower for some sort of recon mission. The only problem was I didn't have the power to open the doors. So I had to find someone from Team Go to get me in. Oh by the way, I didn't catch your name."

"It's Kim. Kim Possible." She said with a hint of pride in her voice.

Ron stopped for a brief moment and swallowed hard. This was not good at all. But the one thing that he didn't want to do was let her know that he was slightly afraid. The prospect of having to get through Kim Possible was a difficult one at that. He could not seem shaken by this fact. He had to maintain the false front of confidence that he put up in front of people. It was his own little form of protection against the cruelty of the world. Especially against most of the people he had grown up with who taunted him for being weird and called him a loser.

Kim thought that maybe if this common criminal knew who she was he would surrender easily. Maybe she wouldn't have to do any fighting today. After all it wasn't as if this guy was a super villain or anything. There was no way he could stand a chance in defeating her.

"Wow, really? I never thought I would meet you in the flesh." Ron began, working overtime to keep his voice steady. "Well Ms. Possible as I was saying, I had to find a way in. So I found a disguise and waited outside of the Go Tower for one of them to get home. So when the purple guy got home, I appeared to just be a churro vendor. I asked if he wanted one, and of course he agreed to let me in while he got his money. And after all, who could resist a churro?"

"Anyway," He continued. "Soon Hego came in and saw what was going on. I was sitting in his chair or something, and taking pictures of the inside of the lair. We engaged in a little verbal sparage and he got really tweaked, sort of like you are right now. Finally he started screaming 'This just isn't how things are done in the Go Tower!'. But by then I was already on my way out the door, so it didn't matter anymore. The purple one never did get that churro. They were both pretty incompetent."

Kim had just been fuming a few seconds ago at this boys remark at how 'tweaked' she was. It wasn't a lie, not by a long shot. It was quite another thing to have some strange criminal bring it up like that as if he was trying to get under her skin. But now her own memories of her experience with Hego had been recalled and she realized just how right the boy was. She couldn't help but giggle a little just thinking about what it must have been like for Hego to walk in on what was described to her.

"Yeah." She laughed. "Hego is so like that. No wonder Shego ended up leaving Team Go."

"Wait, Shego used to be a super hero? No way! Wow if this got out it would totally ruin her reputation." He said surprised. _"I'll have to remember this bit of information."_ He then thought to himself.

"Yeah, I found that out when I was working with Team Go a few months ago. I think that I would have left if I were in her shoes too. Brothers can be so annoying. Trust me, I know."

"I don't." He said sadly. "Only child right here."

"Don't worry, you're not missing out on much."

A brief period of silence enveloped the room as she stood uneasily, just watching him.

"So now you know who I am. What's your name?" She asked at last.

"Ron."

"Does Ron have a last name?"

"In my line of work it's wise to stay out of the spotlight, and for people to not know much about you. But you seem pretty harmless."

"Oh." Was all she could manage.

Kim just realized that for some odd reason she had actually been enjoying this conversation. Why is that? This was a mission after all. Was it because she was just talking about little bits of nothing with another person her age? She had not even made one real attempt to stop him from his work. And all the while he had been working on getting into the safe that she was supposed to be protecting. A cold realization came over her, he was just playing her. He was buying time so that he could get what he had came for. It had worked perfectly, until now. And did he just tell her that he thought she was harmless?

By now though the job was done. Ron had turned off his blow torch and stuck his hand inside the large hole in the safe. He carefully took out whatever the item was and put it safely into one of his pockets. He didn't really bother looking at it, but it felt like a disk. He decided that he really didn't care either. It wasn't his place to care about what it was he was stealing. It was all just part of the job to him.

Standing up and removing his mask he looked at Kim for the first time. What he saw amazed him. She was a stunning sight. Fiery red hair, emerald green eyes. He knew these were clichéd terms that probably everyone used to describe her. But he just couldn't help using them. It just seemed so natural to do so.

"So, you're the famous Kim Possible?" He asked at last.

"Yeah, and I've had enough of your little games. Hand over the disk right now." She said looking at him with a determined look in her eyes.

Now that she saw his face, she realized that he was just indeed a teenager. A face spotted with freckles, deep brown eyes, and the blonde hair she had seen before. He was even smiling at her, an almost goofy grin. Whether that was a natural look or just one to try and goad her on, she didn't know.

"You know I imagined you would be a bit taller for someone who goes around the world kicking bad guy butt every week."

The comment about her height sent Kim over the edge. _"No one mocks my height!"_ She thought furiously as she charged the boy.

Ron knew he had to act fast in order to avoid the fist that was inbound on his face. He was a more than competent fighter but he did not want to get involved with anything tonight. Not with someone with a reputation like Kim Possible. He didn't know if even he could take her on and come out victorious. The only thing he could think to do was escape.

Just milliseconds before the blow was about to land Ron ducked and rolled out under Kim's swinging arm. Her momentum carried her a few feet past where he had been standing. Immediately after evading the punch, he was on his feet and dashed towards the door. Running down the hallway he knew Kim was in hot pursuit. It was a good thing he had his backpack tonight. More specifically what was concealed within it. He felt through the fabric of it for a button as he ran through the doors to freedom. Two small wings tore through the sides of his pack, and soon all of the material began to fall off. What was left was a smooth silver jetpack, a gift from his employer just incase he needed a quick escape route. It had turned out to be exactly what he required.

"_Okay maybe Drakken isn't so stupid."_ He thought. "_I'll need to thank him for the jetpack."_

Igniting the pack he took off into the late afternoon sky leaving a very angry Kim Possible standing on the ground gazing up at him. If looks could kill, Ron would have been a dead man.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I don't get it. He escaped?" Monique asked, astonished.

A low growl was all that escaped Kim's throat.

"But how? No one ever beats you. It's impossible for a Possible to lose."

Kim uttered another feral growl as she took a sip from her smoothie. She was mad for a number of reasons. She let the bad guy play her. She let him steal whatever was on that disk. And then, he had managed to dodge her attack and successfully escape. It was something nearly unheard of for her. She was always so professional about her work. Nothing like that pompous ass Will Du though. Now that she thought about it, he would probably have a field day with her once he found out about her failure. He would be back to calling her an 'amateur' in no time.

"I don't get it." Kim said at last. "I just stood there talking to him for most of the time. I only threw a single punch, which missed."

"Sounds like this boy really threw you off your game today."

"It's like he didn't even care about who I was. He didn't care that I was there to stop him. He was completely oblivious to my intentions." Kim mused bitterly.

"Don't worry Kim. Even a hero has a bad day. But it sounds to me like you have yourself a brand new foe to worry about."

"He did mention that he had another job to do tomorrow though."

"Thinking about getting some payback?" Monique asked with a sly grin on his face.

"Not a trace of doubt in my mind." She said as she whipped out her kimmunicator.

"Just don't forget about your date with Josh tomorrow."

Kim paused for a moment. Josh Mankey. Her mood had suddenly changed to one of nervousness. The boy that she had been crushing on for months now had finally asked her out. She didn't know what she was going to do, what she was going to wear. She hoped that she wouldn't mess this up. But she would worry about that more tomorrow.

Pressing a button the screen lit up and the image of Wade sitting in his room appeared.

"What's up Kim?"

She had talked with Wade on the way back. He had been unable to get a GPS lock on Ron as he sped away. But she went into detail about what he had told her about his employment, and how apparently doing this was nothing new to him.

"I want you to be on the lookout for this guy again. Extra scans, extra intelligence gathering. I want this guy found. He said he's planning on doing this again tomorrow, so I need you to find him before he can."

"Well Kim, it's not like I have a tracking chip embedded in the guy."

"I know Wade. It's just that this is really irritating me."

"It will be difficult, but I'll do my best. I'll keep you updated on anything I find."

"Thanks Wade, you rock."

XXXXXXXXXX

Middleton. His new home. Or his old home, depending on how you wanted to look at it.

Ron eased down on his bed. It was a few minutes past midnight. He was exhausted. His mission had taken most of the day. Go to Denver, almost get caught by Kim Possible, and then fly to Drakken's Rocky Mountain lair to deliver the parcel. All in all it had been a success. Drakken had paid him well. Now he just had to do was wait for the check to clear and he would have tons of cash once more. It was a shame he had to buy most of his own equipment from Hench Co. It was only on very rare occasions that one of his employers provided him with accessories for his missions. Luckily today had been one of those occasions. Without the jetpack Drakken had given him, he would have been royally screwed. And he knew it.

Something had to have gone wrong. How had someone known he was there? It couldn't be a coincidence that _the_ Kim Possible had shown up to thwart him. Someone had to have made a mistake. He wasn't sure, but it was most likely Drakken who had made it possible. That was so fitting. Making it possible for Possible. Amazing how Drakken could screw up his own plan even when he wasn't on the scene of the crime. Oh well.

Tomorrow would be another day. Another mission. Another crime. Ron didn't really consider it a crime though. It was all just business. It's not as if anyone had ever gotten hurt because of what he did. He reassured himself that they never would either. People had told him to use his potential. He was using it alright. He thought it would be funny if those who had told him to apply himself could see him now. Besides those he toiled for, only two souls knew what he did when he was supposedly "at work".

Ron looked forward to Monday. He would be starting fresh in his teenage social life. Maybe this time things could be different. A new beginning, at Middleton High School.


	2. Chapter 2

Authors Note: Wow. I am totally blown away by all of the positive feedback I've received for chapter one. Thank you everyone. I'm thrilled you're enjoying the story so far.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer thingy. I don't own Kim Possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ah Saturday. A day for self improvement. A day to relax. Unless of course you were in the mood that Kim Possible was in.

The clock read 9:30. She was still seriously tweaked about what had occurred the previous day. She was looking forward to Wade beeping her with new information about this Ron character she had encountered. If anyone could find out what his next target was, it was Wade. Since she had spoken to him the night before he had been furiously following up all rumors and leads he could find about this new player. So far he had little to report.

She had also made sure that her own jetpack was ready. Another one of Wade's ingenious inventions. There would be no escaping for her newly found foe tonight. That is of course if Wade could find him. She had been beyond upset when he had escaped. That boy could really run. He was able to outpace her, and she was no slouch when it came to athletics. When he had taken off into the sky all she could do was gaze up at him with murderous intent in her eyes. It had been difficult to contact the owners of the lab and tell them what had happened. She promised herself it would not happen again.

Kim dragged herself out of bed and made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She sat down unceremoniously at the table and began to pour herself some cereal. Her sour demeanor did not go unnoticed by her mother.

"Is something wrong Kim?" Anne Possible asked.

"No, well yeah. Sort of." Kim responded with a sigh.

"I assume it had something to do with the mission last night."

"Yeah."

"Maybe you should take a break. You do deserve a little time to yourself you know."

"No mom it's not that. I like the missions, it's what I do. It's just that last night I messed up big time. I failed."

Her father entered the room, ready to drink his coffee. "Now Kimmie-cub everyone fails from time to time. Even the greatest baseball players make an out 7 out of 10 times." James Possible chimed in.

"What?" Kim asked. The baseball analogy was lost on her. What did making out have to do with her sitch?

"All I'm saying is that you can't expect to be perfect in everything you do. Trying to be perfect will only result in further flaws."

"Your father's right Kim. You shouldn't beat yourself up too much about this. You'll get him next time. Until then there's nothing you can do about it, so why worry?"

"I guess you guys are right." Kim admitted, feeling a bit better.

"But until then why don't you go to the mall, see a movie, something. That will help take your mind off of this."

"Yeah, I think I will. Thanks, you two always know how to cheer me up."

Kim's parents just smiled as she finished her breakfast and made her way back up to her room to change and go call Monique.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ah Saturday. A day for self improvement. A day to relax. Especially if you were in the mood Ron Stoppable was in.

The clock read 12:16. Ron felt like he was on top of the world. He felt so refreshed, reinvigorated, full of energy. He was ready to take the day head on. He felt he could rest the weight of the world upon his shoulders. And it's not because he slept until noon either.

Today was going to be a good day. He could feel it. Fresh off his victory last night he was beaming with pride. He jumped out of bed and began searching his room for clean clothes. He had living in this new room for only a few days now and it was already a mess. Clothes were strewn all across the floor, random assortments of books and papers were scattered on his desk. He even had a half empty bottle of nail polish remover sitting on his dresser. Why exactly it was there he couldn't quite say. His cordless phone was off of its charger. It's batteries were dead more often than not. He didn't know why he never put it back. It wasn't as if it was hard to put it there once he was done using it. Then again he doubted he had even used it once since he and his parents had moved back to Middleton. So then why exactly was it on the other side of his room?

After a lengthy search he was able to find an outfit suitable to wear outdoors. Tan cargos and a dark red hockey jersey. This was something he rarely wore back in Go City. But at the moment it just seemed fitting to wear. He fully intended to go exploring the town today before his mission. If it was to become his new base of operations he wanted to know it inside and out. The little that he did know about it didn't do much to help him. It was an average sized town, well average for Colorado at least. The things which made it famous were it's space center and pickle works. What kind of town takes pride for pickles anyway?

Ron's stomach rumbled at the thought. He was hungry. Ravenous. He needed food and was pretty sure his little pink companion did as well. He walked over to the cage and peeked inside to get a closer look. The little guy was sleeping as usual. Naked mole rats tended to sleep more hours of the day than not, and Rufus was no exception. But Ron knew that there was one thing that would always stir the beast from its slumber.

"Ruuuuufus," He called quietly. "Are you hungry?"

Two black eyes popped open as the small rodent quickly jumped to its feet and made a dash for the open door. Ron never closed Rufus' cage door, there was no need. This naked mole rat was very unique for lack of a better term. He didn't behave like any other animal Ron had ever seen. He could be trusted and he seemed to have consciousness and feelings almost like a human. Looking back on it he was happy that his dad was allergic to every kind of fur. If that hadn't been the case, Ron never would have met Rufus.

Rufus scampered up Ron's arm and onto his shoulder chattering delightedly. The two had many things in common, with food being one of their favorites. Despite how much they both ate they never seemed to gain an ounce of weight. That puzzled Ron but he concluded that either his lifestyle was active enough, or the cartoon laws of physics were at work on him. He decided his first thought was plausible enough as he looked at his body and decided that he was absolutely not a cartoon.

"As some great thinker guy once said, I think, therefore I am not a cartoon!" He said triumphantly. "Or something like that. I don't know."

Rufus squeaked in agreement before he began to pester Ron about the food.

"Okay okay Rufus. Let's go downstairs and I'll make us breakfast. Wait, is that right?" He said to himself looking back at his clock.

Ron decided to have a philosophical battle of his own. Typically the first meal you ate when you awoke was breakfast. That's just the way it was. The sky is blue and the grass is green. Things like that made sense.

But what if you ate that first meal at lunch time? Would it be considered breakfast or lunch? He dared not think about what would happen if he slept until his family was eating dinner.

"Ugh, brain pain." He moaned as he began rubbing his temples.

He made his way to the kitchen and began getting out simple ingredients. Among these were bread, milk, eggs, and an assortment of utensils he would need to complete his culinary creation.

"I'm feeling like French toast today, how about you?"

Rufus jumped up and down and gibbered excitedly on Ron's shoulder earning a smile from him. He could always understand what Rufus said. It was just one of those mysteries in life that you really didn't want explained to you. Some things were just too weird to think about. He also had an uncanny knack for fixing and demolishing electronic devices. This skill was very useful when it came to infiltrating buildings and disabling security cameras. Ron was thankful he didn't have to wear any sort of uncomfortable and itchy masks to conceal his identity when he was on a mission. Rufus was also very adept at picking locks and removing door handles with his tiny paws. Ron couldn't imagine having a better partner.

He considered himself lucky to have someone like Rufus who was more along the lines of a friend than a pet. No, not a friend. He was a member of the family. Ron treated him like the younger sibling he never had. And at this stage in his life he was fairly certain his parents would never have another child.

"_Don't worry, you're not missing out on much." _A voice said inside his head.

The mental image of Kim Possible popped into his mind as he stood making his and Rufus' breakfast. She had somehow known that he was stealing that disk in Denver. Maybe not him specifically, but she was still aware that the heist was going to occur. Would she be able to find out where he was going tonight?

"It couldn't have been a coincidence." He told Rufus. "I'm going to talk to Drakken later today."

He saw Rufus nod slightly. Apparently he was focused intently on the food being prepared. Ron smiled at this. If he were in the same situation he didn't doubt that he would rather think about the food than hear someone's boring rant.

They were both big eaters. So he made eight pieces of French toast for the both of them. As usual they devoured the meal in the span of a few minutes. After he was done Ron went back to his room and removed his wrist communicator from a drawer and attempted to make contact with a man whom few people in the world could.

XXXXXXXXXX

Dr. Drakken was busily looking over the contents of his latest prize. The disk he acquired from that boy contained information which would go a long way in improving his armies of robotic creations. If he were to conquer the world he would need the best designs and artificial intelligence programs available. Perhaps what was on this disk would finally be able to solve the problems he had been having with his robots. When ordered to destroy a target they would start shooting things at random, including each other. Either that or they would crash into walls or smash themselves on their heads with their long metallic arms.

As he continued studying the data the form of Shego entered the room behind him. She didn't mind it when he would hire some outside help. She thought it was nice to not have to go around the world every time he needed something for one of his 'whacked' plans. She was still on the payroll full time and this way she only had to do about half the work she would normally be doing.

"Dr. D." She called out to him.

No response. Either he had not heard her or he simply didn't care. Shego did not like being ignored even if it was unintentional.

"WAKE UP DRAKKEN!" She screamed angrily.

A loud startled screech escaped the lips of Drakken as he jumped up in his seat from the sudden noise. Regaining his composure he turned around to face the olive toned woman.

"Shego what have I told you about… what are you laughing at?"

Shego was bent over with her hands on her knees laughing as Drakken looked on with displeasure. She took great delight in her ability to make him react like a frightened rabbit.

"Yeah, yeah, s-sorry, Dr. D." She managed to say in between her laughs.

"What is it?"

"Well considering you're supposed to be some evil mad genius, you have the nerves of a pixie girl."

"You came in here to tell me _that_?" He asked not concealing just how annoyed he was.

"Oh no. I just wanted to tell you that we're receiving an incoming call from the mercenary kid you hired for last night."

"Nnnnnrgh. Fine patch him through."

An imagine of Ron popped up on the wide screen in Drakken's lair. Drakken was eager to get back to looking at the data with high hopes of fixing his robots. If this didn't work he would have to consider another outside source to try and help him. Perhaps some sort of robotics expert?

"Yes, what do you want?" Drakken asked impatiently.

"Funny story Dr. Drakken. I show up to steal your little disk thing, and guess who comes and tries and stop me? Kim Possible.

"Kim, Possible? You don't say?" He replied nervously.

"Yeah, I do say. Seems to me that she knew exactly what was going on that night. Any idea how that might have happened?"

"No…" He began uneasily. "I have, um, no clue how she would have known about any of my secret plans. They are far too brilliant and ingenious for her to have figured out."

At this point Shego couldn't hold back any longer.

"Brilliant? Ingenious? _Secret?_" She scoffed. "Puh-lease doc, you go on that villains website all the time and post your blog trying to show off to Professor Dementor. Including _all_ the details of your latest schemes."

"You don't think that Kim Possible could have found out about my plans by going there do you?" He asked desperately seeking reassurance.

"No, I'll give you that." She said as he breathed a sigh of relief. "It was probably her nerdy computer kid that told her about it."

"Anyway, try not to let it happen again, okay?" Ron sighed.

"First of all who are you to try and tell me-" Drakken began before being interrupted by Shego.

"Yeah, sure thing kid. Our lips? Sealed. Yeah buh-bye now" She finished for her employer.

She did not want to let anything come between Drakken and the boy on the screen. The less work she had to do for the so called "genius", the better. It's not as if she had ever had much hope that any of his plans would actually work. If she had it her way she would sit around the lair all day doing nothing when she was on the clock. Then she would go out and spend her 'hard earned' money once the day was done.

With this conversation over she retreated back out of the room to resume watching TV and filing her nails like she had been doing before being bothered. She couldn't help but think she heard Drakken muttering something under his breath as she left, but she would let it go for now.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim had just returned home after spending the day with Monique. Her parents had been right. It really did help her relax. The entire day she had not thought about her failed mission. Seeing that new Orlando Bloom movie had been especially helpful. Seeing anything with him in it would have put her in a better mood, except those weird fantasy movies he was in. She couldn't imagine how anyone could have sat through the them. The third movie alone was nearly five hours long and had eight scenes which should have counted as endings.

Laying down on the couch she smiled at the thought of the days events. The mall did indeed have it all. She found out that the new Spring line of clothes would be arriving at Club Banana in a couple of weeks. She was deeply lost in her thoughts when the kimmunicator chirped.

Sitting up, she grabbed it out of her pocket and pressed the activation button.

"Go Wade." She said glowing with joy.

"Somebody's glowing." He said with an impish smile.

"I'm not glowing. I just had a very good day."

"Some people would consider that huge grin on your face glowing."

"Moving on!" She said with mock anger. "What's the sitch?"

"I found a lead in Dementor's latest blog. It says that tonight he intends to steal the formula for some weird chemical bonding agent. He was gloating that it would make people stick to each other if they were exposed to it."

"You would think he and Drakken would learn not to post their plans on that website trying to impress each other."

"Yeah, but that just makes it easier for us to stop them."

"I suppose. So where and when is it going down?"

"Sacramento at around 11:00 P.M. Pacific time." He said before turning away from his computer to look back at Kim. "Seriously though Kim. They post every single detail to their plans. How could they ever think they were capable of taking over the world?"

"I can't say."

"So do you think it will be Dementor or the new guy?"

"I'm really hoping it's the new guy. I'm going to wipe that big goofy grin off his face the next time I see him."

"Are you sure you don't want me to just notify the local authorities?"

"No way Wade. This is way personal."

"Alright. Seeing how we know when he's going to show up, maybe you should get there early and set a trap."

"Good thinking Wade. I'll show up half an hour before schedule. I can't wait to see his expression when he's in handcuffs."

"Good hunting Kim. I'll call a few minutes before your ride shows up." Wade said before the screen blacked out, leaving a very pleased Kim sitting on her couch eagerly awaiting her ride to arrive.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim had a few hours before her ride was scheduled to show up. Wade had said it would be around 7:00. To her time could not go by any slower. It seemed like every five minutes she would glance down at her watch hoping and praying that it would be time. But alas it was not to be. She would have to wait on Wade. She decided to just sit back, relax, and watch TV hoping that she wouldn't go insane with anticipation. She had one thought on her mind tonight, revenge.

Finally the time came. She hitched a ride with Mrs. Mahoney to the airport where she boarded a waiting FedEx DC-10 cargo plane bound for Sacramento. She didn't like being forced to sit in back with all of the packages. It was very dark, and pretty lonely as well. The only thing she had to keep herself occupied was playing a game on the kimmunicator or chatting with Wade about the details of the upcoming mission. She reassured herself saying that the flight would not be long, and that the end result would be worth it. She would do this for both the people whose secret formula was in danger, as well as for herself.

When the plane landed she couldn't get out fast enough. She took a deep breath of the fresh Californian air and allowed herself to relax again. Bringing out her kimmunicator she contacted Wade and got directions to the lab where she intended to spring her trap.

Igniting her jetpack she made her way to the lab across town. She hoped it would have enough fuel in case she had to go off in some aerial pursuit of the boy she was seeking. But knowing Wade, he had probably made some special highly efficient fuel just in case a situation like that ever were to occur. Her thoughts were confirmed when she checked the side of the pack to see how much fuel remained. It had barely dropped at all. She smiled knowing that she would be able to capture her man no matter what tonight. The huntress would not lose her prey this time.

Kim checked her watch. It read 10:30. Perfect. She would be able to do a bit of scouting around the building and find the ideal place to spring her trap. After circling around half of the building she saw the back door slightly ajar. It was then that she also heard a noise coming from within the building, heading straight towards her.

The door was fully opened to reveal Ron exiting with a large folder tucked underneath his arm. He was whistling a cheerful tune and apparently had not noticed Kim standing there staring directly at him. Once he made it a few feet out of the building though, their eyes met.

"What? How? You weren't supposed to be here for another 30 minutes!" She exclaimed with utter frustration.

"Huh? How did you know- Oh. The blog thing, right?" He answered just as confused.

"Yeah. But was this a trap? I was supposed to be setting a trap for you. There's no such thing as trap-traps."

"There can be trap-traps. It's just that they're hard to pull off. But this wasn't one of them."

"But you're early. How do you explain that?"

"Early? I'm not early. It's 11:35. I got here like a half hour ago."

"No Ron, it's 10:35." Kim sighed, pointing at her watch even though Ron was too far away to see it.

"Oh, snap. I must have forgotten about the whole time zone change thing."

"So you live in the Mountain Time Zone? Interesting."

"I, uh, no! I live in Boston. Yeah Boston," He started. "I got in my cah, and went to the bah, to eat some lobstah with Nomah." He continued in a terrible Bostonian accent.

"What the heck are you talking about?"

"What? Lobstah or Nomah?"

"Okay I get the lobster thing. What is a nomah?"

"Nomah Gahciapahra! The pride of the Red Sawx!"

"Can you please stop talking like that?"

"But I'm from Boston."

"So not buying it."

"Well uh, anyway. Gotta go!" He said as he reached to his pack to press a button revealing jetpack wings like his in his last mission. He took off into the night sky confident that once more he had just barely escaped.

"Oh no you don't! Not this time!" Kim said as she hit a button on her own pack. A helmet piece came out from it and attached itself firmly to her head.

She ignited her own pack, taking off after him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Too close once again. Ron was seriously going to have to talk to those people about their blogs. It wouldn't help his cause, let alone their causes, if Kim Possible was able to find out all of their plots before they even took place. He was lucky that he had this jetpack. He knew it would not be good for his career if he was captured by that red haired hottie hero.

"_Wait, did I just think of her as hot?" _Ron thought to himself as he flew through the air.

That was when he heard something behind him. Looking back over his shoulder he saw her flying behind him. And she was gaining. Not good. He didn't know what to do now. The folder was still securely in his grasp, but he doubted he would be able to lose her now. He pulled up his arm and carefully activated the communicator on his right wrist.

"Yes, this is Professor Dementor." A heavily accented voice sounded from the other side.

"Hey there dude. Ron Stoppable here. Listen, Kim Possible is sort of trailing me right now. I don't think I can lose her."

"Vhat! I did not hire you FOR YOUR INCOMPITENCE! Do not allow her to reach zeh secret rendezvous point!" He screamed back.

"Yeah well, that's the problem. What should I do?"

"Vhy don't you consider FINISHING HER OFF!"

"That sounds kind of dangerous. And besides, I've never hit a girl before."

"You will do that or you will NOT BE PAID!" He said angrily as he cut off the signal leaving Ron flying solo once more.

He sighed in defeat knowing what was coming next. "Alright, let's just find a nice isolated place to land. Hopefully I can get out of this alive." He said to himself.

After flying for a couple of minutes he spotted a nice park below. At this time of night it was sure to be deserted. It was here that he would make last stand against the world famous teen hero. He would need to use every underhanded trick to his advantage if he was to survive.

Ah Saturday. A day of self improvement. A day to relax. This was so not how Ron had envisioned it to end.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors Note: Thanks for all the support. It's you guys who keep me writing. Reviews are always appreciated but if you don't leave one, it's no big… that doesn't count as begging does it?

Disclaimer: The sun did not shine, it was too wet to play, I don't own Kim Possible, all that cold, cold wet day.

XXXXXXXXXX

On Kim saw Ron begin to descend to the ground. Apparently he was heading towards a large grassy park. It was sure to be empty right now, so there wasn't a chance of any innocent bystanders being hurt. So, he wanted to quit running. Maybe this time he would stand up and fight her. She was more than willing to give him what he wanted. She had been waiting for this moment all day.

When her feet touched the ground he was already removing his own pack. She quickly followed suit, undoing her helmet and sending it tumbling to the side. She slipped out of her harness and noticed that he was standing there looking a bit nervous. She smiled inwardly. But her expression on the outside was all business. Where had the confident and arrogant boy she had met only a day earlier gone? Maybe he knew that his time was up. Maybe he knew that he could not match her in a fight. Maybe he knew that there would be no escape for him this time.

Ron sighed as he took a step in Kim's direction but quickly realized that any movement towards her might be seen as a sign of aggression. He did not want to fight if he didn't have to.

"Ms. Possible," He began. "Is there any way we can all just forget about this?"

"No. And stop calling me Ms. Possible."

"Why?"

"Someone else calls me that. Someone I can't stand."

"Oh, so I take it you are able to stand me?" Ron said grinning.

"Gah! No freakin' way can I stand you. But at least you don't insult me on a regular basis."

"Oh okay. So what should I call you?"

"Just call me-"

"I know! How about Kimmie!"

"Don't. Even." She said coldly. Ron felt shivers running through his body with these words.

"What?" He asked uneasily. "Why not?"

"Because that's something that Shego calls me."

"Ah. You know she's kinda cute in the right light." He said starring into space imagining her in that 'right light'.

"Eww." Kim said disgustedly. "So TMI."

"TMI?" Ron asked raising an eyebrow.

"Too much information. It takes a while to learn Monique-speak."

"Yeah, sorry. I don't get that either."

"Never mind," She began. "Now as much as I don't want to do this, I'm one of the good guys. So I'll give you two options. Either surrender right here and now, or get beaten into submission. I would personally prefer the second option."

"That's really noble of you and all. But you're forgetting the all important third option."

Kim's voice turned rigid. "There is no third option."

"Oh! But there is!" Ron exclaimed. "Option number three: let me go and hope we never see each other again. It would be easy if you stopped looking on that villain website. What was it called again?"

"Villainster dot com."

"Yeah, just stop going there and everything will be cool."

"Well, I tried." She said with an exaggerated sigh. "But it looks like I'm going to have to go with option number two."

She set herself in a fighting stance and took a couple steps towards Ron before he suddenly stopped her.

"WAIT!" He cried out.

"WHAT!" She answered stopping in her tracks, just as loud and very annoyed.

"Mind if we listen to some music?"

"Excuse me?"

"Music. My wrist communicator. It plays MP3's."

"Oh. I see." She said as she looked down at her pocket dejectedly where her own kimmunicator was resting.

"What's wrong? Yours doesn't?"

"No…" She sighed.

"Tsk tsk. That's a shame. Mine's the latest from Hench Co. You know music really gives you an edge during a fight. It's almost like your own little personal theme song."

"Oh and I suppose you steal your music as well."

"Well, yeah, sort of. Everybody downloads music these days. Don't you?"

"Well… yeah I guess." Kim conceded.

"So will you wait a few seconds?" He said, unintentionally giving his own version of her puppy dog pout. She winced a bit at the sight of that.

"Whatever." She grumbled. "Just hurry up."

"Okay." He said as he began to scroll through his play list. "No, no, no, no, hehe, I like this song, but no. No, no, no, no-"

"RON!"

"What?" He asked, a bit startled.

"While we're young, please and thank you." She scowled impatiently.

"But I need to find the perfect song…" He moaned back.

Kim just scoffed in disgust.

"Okay… this will do." He finally said. A loud and fast paced techno song began to play from Ron's wrist communicator.

"Good."

"Just be warned. The Rondo came to play."

"The Rondo? Please. Get over yourself."

"This coming from Ms. 'I can do anything?'" He said with that goofy grin plastered on his freckled face.

Kim growled as she threw herself at Ron aiming her right fist at his midsection. Ron prepared to block the blow but it was a trick all along. Kim swiftly pulled back her arm as she sent her left fist into Ron's face, earning a grunt from the young man and sent him sprawling backwards, but still on his feet.

"_Ah. I knew that would feel so good." _Kim thought to herself.

She came at him again with a left hook but he was successfully able to block this shot. He ducked under another blow intended on redistributing his teeth before taking a knee to the gut that doubled him over in pain. He backed off in hopes of regaining his breath before continuing the fight. Inside he still had doubts that he would be able to hit the young woman which stood before him.

"Come on _Rondo_. Take a swing at me." Kim said arrogantly.

She didn't give him a chance to respond as she was once more on the attack. She once more threw a left hook, and once more Ron was able to evade it as he continued his steady retreat. What he didn't expect was the spinning backfist that followed immediately after the punch in the same fluid motion. Kim's blow struck the face of Ron sending him reeling backwards once more but this time with a busted lip. The relentless assault continued as Kim sent a kick thundering into Ron's abdomen and another punch to the face knocking him to his back.

Ron pushed himself to his feet hoping that he would have time to at least steady himself before she was upon him once more. Thankfully that was the case. He brought a finger to his mouth and looked at the red substance which was smeared there. He had had enough of this.

"_Okay Ron, you're going to need to fight back. You can't dodge and block forever. This girl is a pro." _

Ron brought his arms up in a classic guard position and readied himself to enter the melee. The two combatants circled each other briefly before Ron made his first offensive attack of the night. He sent a jab flying in Kim's direction which was easily avoided, at least she made it look easy. He tried again but received the same result. But this time he followed up quickly with a straight punch from his right arm. Kim had either been anticipating this or she was just much faster than him. She grabbed hold of his forearm and twisted it around so she was now behind him pinning his arm to his back. She took a leg and swept out Ron's legs from underneath him sending them both down to the grass.

She now had one knee in his lower back while the foot was planted to the ground, all the while pressing his oddly bent arm against his body. Such pain did not go unfelt by Ron.

"Ow! Ow! My kidney! Think you can move your knee a bit?" He asked painfully.

"Oh, I can move it alright!" Kim said as she moved her head closer to his ear, digging her knee harder and deeper into his body earning another cry of pain.

The increase in pressure caused Ron to snap his head backwards hard. Unintentionally it made hard contact with Kim's nose sending her tumbling off of his back where she lay for a few seconds holding her face. Both teens then stood up and eyed each other for a moment before Kim spoke up.

"You bastard! You actually hit me?" She said in disbelief.

"What! I thought I was supposed to hit you! You asked remember? And in my defense I didn't even mean to."

Kim checked her nose to see if it was bleeding, and was relieved to discover that it was not. Refocusing her attention on Ron she ran and lunged in his direction tackling him to the ground. She grabbed hold of both of his wrists attempting to force them to his side. What she failed to realize is that Ron was not a weak boy. He may have been skinny and fairly gaunt in appearance, but he had been taking martial arts lessons for many years now. Along with that came a bit of weight training. After all, someone who had to tangle with security guards on a semi-regular basis had to stay in shape.

Slowly but surely he was able to overpower Kim and send her flying off of him. He stood up and backed a respectable distance away from her. He prepared once more to receive her charge. His body was aching and his lip was still bleeding. Inwardly he didn't know how much longer he would be able to hold off the vicious assault from the crime fighting heroine. That was when they both realized the song playing on his communicator had ended.

What had now replaced the energetic techno song was something entirely different.

"_I know we've been friends forever,"_

"_But now I think I'm feeling something totally new…"_

Kim looked at him oddly for a moment before bursting into laughter. It was the kind of laughing that a mad scientist would envy. Ron gave her a confused look before his eyes went wide, realizing that she was laughing at the song that was playing. He knew he needed to do some damage control for this situation and quickly shut it off.

"You… you actually like that song?" Kim giggled.

"What, I mean, the song? No. I don't know how that got on there." Ron said skittishly.

"You're listening to 'Could It Be'!"

"So what?"

"Considering you're supposed to be some sort of bad criminal, I would say that's a bit odd."

"Liking this song doesn't make me any less of a man." He said as he crossed his arms and turned his head the other way, as if to say 'this discussion is over'.

"No, but that pose you just made doesn't exactly help your case." She giggled again.

"Pfft. What do you know anyway?" He said, very agitated at the moment.

"What I know is that I love that song too. Turn it back on. There's no reason we need to listen to your garbage techno music to get pumped for a fight."

"That wasn't Garbage."

"Everyone has their own opinion."

"No, I mean that was a group called KMFDM. Not Garbage." He started before trailing off into his own thoughts. "Or are the MDFMK now…"

"That's really not what I was talking about. Now then, shall we dance?" She said before once more raising her fists in preparation to attack.

The wheels in Ron's mind were turning. "Actually, since we both like this song, how about we take a little break to just enjoy the music before we get back to beating each other senseless." He suggested.

Kim considered this for a moment as she studied Ron's features and body language. He was obviously hurting and would not be able to continue the fight much longer. A small break to listen to their favorite song would not be doing him any favors. He was finished. Done. Over. All that remained was to make it official. She knew she would have absolutely no problems bringing him to justice tonight.

"Alright. No harm in a little break." Kim smiled deviously as she took a seat on the grass as she saw Ron doing the same.

Ah, the moment he had been waiting for.

Ron checked his large pockets. He hoped his little companion was okay. He had taken a couple of pretty nasty falls at the hands of Kim. He breathed a sigh of relief as Rufus popped his head out of one of the pockets unscathed.

"Okay Rufus," Ron whispered. "I need a favor from you buddy."

Ron quickly and quietly went over the details of his plan with Rufus looking up to take a glace in Kim's direction. She was looking up at the stars as the music played on, seeming to be really enjoying the moment. Her lack of attention on her seemingly 'defeated' foe would be her undoing.

Ron checked his pocket for one other item. A vile, putrid, foul smelling chemical spray which was 'fresh' off the line from Hench Co. It was invaluable for knocking out guards when Ron was on a job. Tonight it would serve an even more important purpose. It was his ticket for escaping from the clutches of Kim Possible. If this didn't work, there would be nothing left up his sleeve to stop her.

The song began to wind down as Kim stood up and stretched her arms and legs a bit. She cracked her neck in a circling motion before focusing her attention on Ron. She failed to notice the small creature moving it's way in the grass towards her position.

Rufus was slowly but surely making progress moving in on Kim. His demeanor was more akin to that of a snake than a rodent. He wasn't using his paws to move forward, but rather crawling on his belly. He was trying to mimic the movements of the soldiers he had seen in movies stealthily moving to sneak up on their unsuspecting enemies. His mission, and he did indeed choose to accept it, was critical to the success of his boys plan. He was determined not to fail.

Ron too stood up uneasily once he realized that time was up. He couldn't see Rufus in the dark even though the park did have decent lighting. This was a good thing though as it had to mean that Kim couldn't see him approaching either. His jaw still hurt when he tried to open his mouth all the way. He knew would probably be eating light for the next couple days. That was if he was able to make it back to Middleton after tonight.

He kept one hand in his pocket as he steeled himself for the moment that was approaching. It would be risky getting so close to her without getting his lights knocked out, but it was the only way.

"Well Ron, halftimes over. Time to finish up out little duel." Kim said before walking a few steps to where Ron was waiting.

She never made it that far.

Kim felt something on her legs. Underneath her pants. Something was crawling there. It felt weird. She began kicking her leg trying to dislodge whatever was clinging to her bare skin. Now it was tickling. She was hopping around on the grass in hopes of scaring the disturbance out. That plan didn't work. Reaching down with her hands she desperately tried to claw at whatever was inside her clothes causing such chaos. But the thing moved around too fast for her to get a grip on. That's when the pain began.

"Ow!" She screamed out as the teeth of Rufus sank into the flesh of her leg.

So focused had she been on Rufus that Kim didn't realize that Ron was standing right next to her now holding a tiny spray bottle of some sort. Without wasting another second he sprayed it into her face, being careful not to get any in her eyes. He doubted that it would have any ill effects, but there was still no reason in taking any risks. It didn't take long for the results to show.

"Man… that stinks…" She was able to get out before collapsing to the ground in a heap.

Ron stood still for a few brief moments. Had it actually worked? He didn't want to risk jinxing it by celebrating too early only for her to get up and pummel him to the ground. But it was apparent that his plan had indeed been a resounding success. He could hardly believe it.

"Boo yah!" Ron shouted in victory pumping his fist into the air. Then he felt a breeze. He didn't want to look down. But he did.

Ron's pants were hanging down at his ankles, revealing his polka dot boxers. How they had come to rest there he had no idea. He was wearing a belt. A very good one in fact, for this was not the first time that his pants had come undone during a mission. Or any time in his sixteen years on this planet for that matter. He was quick to pull them up and redo his belt, hoping to avoid any further wardrobe malfunctions.

Rufus emerged from the ankle of Kim's pants and shared in the victory celebration as he climbed Ron's clothes and rested on his shoulder. Ron went over to where he had dumped the folder and his jetpack and prepared to take off to the secret location he was meeting Dementor at. While strapping himself in he looked at the motionless form of Kim laying on the grass and felt a twinge of regret for what he had done. He didn't consider himself a bad guy. He was the exact opposite. He was nice. He was caring. He was a good man.

"_That's right, a man, not a boy. The certificate says so. And it's not as if the Rabbi had forgotten to sign it." _Ron thought.

He glanced up again at Kim. Who knows how long the stuff he had used lasted. She could be here all night for all he knew.

"_What kind of man would you be if you left a helpless teenage girl lying in the park unconscious?" _A voice inside his head asked him.

He let out a heavy breath and walked over to Kim. He knelt before her and scooped her kimmunicator out of her pocket and tried to figure out a way to turn it on. He would try to contact someone, anyone, to come retrieve her. There was no way he would risk using his own wrist mounted model to do it. Not if there was even the slightest chance someone would be able to get a lock on its signal. After a few seconds of fumbling around with it he was able to get a response. The image of a younger boy popped onto the screen. He looked tired.

"Hey Kim, what's-" He yawned before realizing that the face he was expecting wasn't there.

"Uh, hi. Who are you?" Ron asked.

"I should be asking you the same question." Wade said defiantly.

"Look, Ms. Possi- I mean Kim, needs some help. I need you to patch me through to some local medical teams here in Sacramento."

"What? Is she okay? What happened?" Wade said with a new worried tone.

"She's fine. I think. Look can you just lock on to my coordinates and hook me up with some emergency services?"

"Yeah sure thing man. You'll have an open channel in a few seconds."

The screen blacked out just seconds later as a new voice came from the kimmunicator.

"911 dispatch what is your emergency?" The voice said.

"Yeah uh, I'm in the park at the corner of…" Ron began as he squinted to read the street signs in the distance. "Jefferson Ave. and 15th street, and there's a girl lying here unconscious. I think she needs an ambulance or something."

"Okay sir, please just remain calm." The operator said.

Calm? He was calm. There was nothing in his tone that sounded remotely like panic or fear. Was that just something they were trained to say?

"An ambulance has been dispatched and will be arriving on the scene shortly. May we please have your name sir?"

"My uh, name? My name is… Wood." He said as he gazed at a tree in the park. "Kerry Wood. Yeah. Ow! My arm is starting to hurt. I gotta go!"

"Hold-" The operator said before Ron ended the call and tossed the kimmunicator down by Kim's side. It was a good thing he was wearing gloves. He didn't need any fingerprints on the device once he left.

Ron stood by Kim's side for a couple of minutes before he heard the sounds of sirens wailing in the distance. It didn't take long before he could see flashing white and red lights of the ambulance approaching his position. Satisfied that he had done the chivalric thing tonight, he checked his pocket to make sure Rufus was back in securely. Check. The folder containing the information Professor Dementor wanted was tightly in his grasp. Check. Once the vehicle was around 50 yards away he blasted off into the nights sky and was en route to deliver the newest of his acquisitions.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim opened up her sleepy eyes. It took a few seconds for her vision to become perfectly clear again. Once it was she looked around to see where exactly she was. It was a hospital. What exactly had happened? She was having trouble putting the pieces back together. She was just about to finish the fight when she felt something crawling on her leg. Then there had been some awful smell. The next thing she knew she woke up in here. Where exactly was here again?

"Oh good you're awake." A nurse said as she walked past the bed Kim was laying in.

"What? Where am I. Is this still Sacramento? What time is it? What day is it? How did I end up here?"

"Whoa slow down there. Too many questions all at once."

"Sorry. This is all just a bit weird for my liking."

"The world famous teen crime fighter Kim Possible complaining about something being weird? That's a new one." The nurse joked.

"Okay okay. Let's just start off by me asking how I got here?"

"Well, there was a 911 call placed by a guy who said he found you unconscious in the park. That was about one and a half hours ago. But there was something a bit strange about it."

"How so?"

"The driver of the ambulance says that he saw someone fly off into the sky on some sort of rocket or something."

Kim's curiosity was now replaced by utter rage. It was him! This was all his fault. She just knew it. Her heart rate increased causing the machines she was hooked up with to respond in kind. The steady beeping had picked up pace to match her own fury.

"Calm down honey. I don't know exactly what to make of this whole situation, but we have orders to keep you here overnight just for observation. We've already contacted your parents and explained everything to them. So for now you might as well just try and get some sleep."

Kim plopped her head down hard against the pillow. Sleep. Yeah right. She was too wound up and angry to get any sleep now. She could hardly believe what was happening to her. How had this all come about? How did she lose _again_? It was that thing on her leg that distracted her. She just knew it. This was an anomaly. An outlier. A mistake. She was winning that fight, and she would have won if it had not been for the aforementioned distraction. That at least put her somewhat at ease. But still in the back of her mind she knew the statistical truth about this whole mess.

She was now 0-2 against this Ron character.

This sucked.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron was coming home late once again. He was lucky he was able to catch his flight out of Sacramento on time. The fight with Possible had nearly caused him to miss it. It was a good thing there was a stream of cargo aircraft flights criss-crossing the country on such a constant basis. He was able to hitch a ride on one of them and bail out when he was over Denver airspace. He absolutely hated the few seconds of freefalling he had to do before his jetpack kicked in. It had barely enough fuel to make it back to Middleton after that.

Regularly back in Go City he would have an alibi to explain to his parents about where he had been. Normally it would have been staying over at a friends house or something of that nature. But not this time. Not in Middleton. He had just moved here a few days ago and such an alibi would not suffice. Not yet at least, he hoped.

So he had to sneak back into his own house after everyone had long been asleep. Climbing up to get to his second story window wasn't hard, but it wasn't exactly the greatest thing in the world to do after you had just had your butt handed to you. Earlier in the day he had been able to convince his parents that he wasn't feeling well and had gone to bed early. Thus when he went out later that night, no one has suspected a thing. That was good. But it wouldn't work forever.

He had to relax Sunday. No missions, no real physical activities of any kind. He was determined to just lay on the couch and watch TV all day. He needed a chance to rest his bruised and battered body. His lip was swollen. He was lucky he didn't have a black eye or broken nose after his encounter with Kim. That would have prompted questions that he didn't want to and probably couldn't answer.

Sleep came easily for him that night. Not only because he was physically drained, but because he was once more filled with the satisfaction of another job well done. Another mission, another paycheck. They money wasn't nearly good enough to set him for life, but for a 16 year old male it was more than sufficient to meet his needs. It beat having a traditional boring job as well. After all, one of his many mottos was 'Never be normal'.

This ruled.


	4. Chapter 4

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who cares about this story. You people are awesome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible… pretty straightforward.

XXXXXXXXXX

It took a few hours after the effects of that gas had worn off for Kim to fall asleep again. Her mind was racing with thoughts and doubts. She went through the scenario in her head over and over again, trying to figure out where she went wrong. She had him on the ropes, and then he suggested taking a break. Was that all part of his plan? What was it that he had that crawled up her leg and caused her to lose focus on her goal?

When she awoke in the morning she was surprisingly full of energy. A fire had been lit under her. Pure rage was setting in. All she had to do now was wait for Wade to come up with another lead on where Ron would strike next. When they next met she would go all out. She now knew she was superior to him in martial ability and strategy. She knew she was probably better in just about anything in fact. The one field that he seemed to have an edge on was cunning though. That factor of Ron's was one she would have to overcome. That was twice now that she had let herself be distracted by him. Once due to the unexpected nature of who he had turned out to be, and the other due to her own overconfidence. She didn't bother telling herself it wouldn't happen again. She already did that once and failed to live up to that promise.

Once she had been cleared to leave the hospital she had Wade set her up with a commercial flight bound for Middleton. It would be free of charge of course, as she had once helped land a damaged plane for that airline. She thought back to that day. It had been a good one. She had been returning from a mission to stop Duff Killigan from secretly replacing all of the normal golf balls at a mini golf course with his explosive ones. One of many successful missions that helped propel her onto the worlds stage as a hero.

Sitting in the seat she wondered what she would do when she got home. Something felt amiss. Wasn't there something important she was supposed to have done the night before?

_Josh!_

Kim mentally cursed herself. She had been so wrapped up in thoughts of revenge that her date with Josh had completely escaped her mind. He had probably come to her house expecting a nice evening out with her. How did he feel when her parents told him she had already gone out? What would he think of her now that she had blown him off?

She let out a slight groan and buried her face in her hands. Just another way missions were interfering with her social life. But she knew that she would not, could not give up the missions. Not even for a boy like Josh. To deny herself of her bliss and purpose in life would be more painful than rejection from him.

Accepting the situation and knowing that she would need to do some serious damage control, Kim slipped on her headphones and tried to lose herself in the in-flight movie. Another Rob Schneider movie. Great. Which one would this be? The one where he turned into an animal? The one where he turned into a girl? The one where he turned into a stapler? Wait, that one didn't even exist. Where did that come from? Oh well, it seemed like something which could have actually been real.

Kim decided that she would rather try to catch some sleep than watch the movie. All she really wanted to do was get home and do nothing for the rest of the day. No shopping, no phone calls, nothing. Between the uncomfortable night at the hospital and the small seats on the airplane, a good night spent in her own bed would feel like heaven. Her last thoughts before sleep claimed her were thinking of what would occur when she went to school on Monday and having to explain herself to Josh. To her, it couldn't get any worse.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sunday had been a fairly uneventful day for Ron. Once more he decided to sleep until noon. He knew that it wasn't good for his body. He would have a difficult time getting to bed at a decent hour later that night. It would only be compounded with the anxiety of being the new kid in school. Being in the middle of the second semester he would have very little time to adjust before the year actually ended. Maybe that was a good thing. Go for about three months, get all the awkwardness out of the way, and then once his junior year began it would be like he had been going from the beginning. That was how he saw it at least.

He woke up lazily and decided right then and there he was starving. He had seen a Bueno Nacho the day before when he took his own little tour of the town. Maybe he would go there today. If it was anything like the one in Go City it would most definitely satisfy his craving for something cheesy… And spicy. And crunchy. His mouth watered just thinking about it.

He searched through his clothes and threw one something decent looking. At least what he thought was decent looking. For some reason he liked what he had worn the previous day. He decided that he would wear it on Monday. Putting on his shoes he got up and slipped his wallet in his pocket and headed for his door. After saying bye to his parents he walked outside and set off to the fast food joint.

He didn't really appreciate just how quiet and peaceful the town was the day before. It was charming and innocent. He wondered if anything out of the ordinary had ever happened here before. It seemed unlikely. The slightest hint of something unusual to go on in these parts would probably terrify the people. This would be a welcome change from his old home. Nothing at all to worry about here except his fresh start in high school.

He neared the Bueno Nacho and could already smell the aroma spiced meat. He had not gone inside the other day on his walk. If he had he most certainly would have ordered something, or more likely many things. There was no telling how that could have affected him on the mission. Having to do all of the strenuous physical activity with a stomach ache would have impacted him in many bad ways.

Ron strode up to the counter while studying the menu above him. There were some of the usual items he had grown accustomed to, but also some missing ones.

"Welcome to Bueno Nacho, home of the seven foot long burrito. May I take your order?" The young man behind the counter greeted.

"Yeah hi, uh, Ned," Ron began as he spotted the nametag on the clerks shirt. "I'm just wondering, where are your wraps?"

"Wraps?" Ned asked.

"Wraps! You know! Like the Meximushroom Wrap!" Ron exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, we don't sell wraps here."

"What do you mean you don't sell them? They're the biggest thing in Go City right now. Wraps are the future."

"I'm sorry sir, but the wraps did not test well."

"Test what test?"

"Ten randomly selected customers taste tested current and future menu items."

"Ugh… fine." Ron grumbled. "I'll take two tacos and an order of nachos."

"Okay. That will be 3.98 sir."

Ron handed the money to Ned and waited for his food to come. He tapped his fingers against the counter in annoyance. They didn't even have his favorite items on the menu. Who were these randomly selected customers? He would like to have a talk with them. Ned placed a tray of food in front of Ron who took it and began walking to one of the booths.

"Thank you and have a muy bueno day!" He cheerfully called to Ron as he left.

Ron sat downheartedly in one of the booths as he looked over the array of food before him.

"_This is just great. What the heck am I supposed to do with tacos and nachos?" _He thought bleakly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Monday had arrived. The temperature was cool and bitter. The smell of rain was in the air. Ominous gray clouds filled the sky. A harsh wind whipped through the town. If one were a reader of omens, they would have predicted that this day would not be a good one.

Kim had woken up prepared herself for the day very quickly. There was a lot on her mind. Once she had finished eating breakfast she was out the door and on her way to school. She had to talk to Josh. She couldn't bring herself to do it on Sunday. She just needed to take that day off. Hopefully he would understand. He was a nice guy after all, wasn't he? He was big into art and feelings and all that good stuff. He would realize that her weekend had been a bad one.

She reached the school about 20 minutes before her first class started. Good, she would have time to chat with Monique a bit before the school day officially started. She could use some sound advice right now. She was certain that Monique would be just the person to receive said advice.

Kim spotted Monique at her own locker and hurried through the hall to get to her. When she did arrive, Monique looked at the expression on her face and couldn't help but giggle a little.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Monique laughed.

"Yeah… What should I do?" Kim asked worryingly.

"Girl, you don't need to do anything. If that guy doesn't understand that you have a job to do then he doesn't deserve you."

"I know that sounds right in theory, but for some reason I just can't get over the fact that I blew my first real chance with him."

"Don't worry about it Kim. Josh is the sensitive type. I'm sure he won't be mad or anything like that."

"So do you think I should just apologize and stuff?"

"Like I said before, I don't think you really need to say sorry or anything. But if it will make you feel better there's no harm in it."

"Alright. Thanks Nique." Kim said before she began walking to her 1st period class. "You're wise beyond your years." She added looking over her shoulder.

"And don't you forget it!" Monique shouted back.

XXXXXXXXXX

World History class with Mr. Barkin. It seemed odd that so many teachers were constantly in need of a substitute. In the case of this class he would be their teacher for the rest of the semester. Kim supposed that things could have been worse. Steve Barkin had actually served in the military. Despite his methods, he was actually a pretty solid teacher. Was that because he was good at it, or just because he just intimidated his students into doing their work?

As Kim walked into the classroom she saw someone sitting in the last row of desks next to the wall. She blinked a couple times, thinking her mind was playing tricks on her. Maybe this was just the product of her overstressed mind that had been focused on the boy for the past few days.

"_No! It can't be!" _Her mind screamed.

She hesitantly took a few more steps and by now she was certain. Ron Stoppable sat in her class. In her school. In her town. It didn't take long before he too noticed her, and looked wide-eyed into her own.

"What the f-"

"Oh son of a b-"

Both were simultaneously cut off mid-sentence as Mr. Barkin entered the room and screamed out orders as if he were commanding a platoon in the middle of a battle.

"LISTEN UP PEOPLE!" He began, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Today we have a new student in class. I trust that you will be treating him with the same courtesy and respect you show me."

The class murmured in agreement, though few words were actually said. Only one who had been familiar with the workings of a high school classroom would have been able to conclude that Barkin's message had been received loud and clear.

"And Possible, if you would be so kind to take your seat we could get started on today's lesson."

Kim was snapped back to reality as she realized she had been standing at the front of the room staring at Ron. A slight blush crossed her face as she made her way to the front seat on the opposite side of the room from where Ron was sitting.

"World War One introduced a plethora of new weapons to the modern battlefield. These include but are not limited to poison gas, hand grenades, tanks….."

Kim wasn't paying attention to Mr. Barkin's lesson anymore. Why was this happening to her? Was she put on this planet to suffer? She was determined to get to the bottom of this. She planned on getting to the bottom of this after school. But she hoped she would be able to do so sooner than that. She looked out the window on the far side of the classroom as a pelting rain began to fall. It pattered loudly off the windows causing Mr. Barkin to speak even louder than usual. One would think that wasn't physically possible. Apparently it was.

The rest of the period was spent either taking notes or thinking about the sheer absurdity of the situation she was in.

XXXXXXXXXX

After the shock he received in his first period class the rest of the day was like a blur to Ron. What had Mr. Barkin been talking about? He couldn't quite remember. The same held true for Biology, English, and P.E. It remained that way until it was time for lunch. He was hopeful that this school would have something decent to eat. His old school served something that the student body had dubbed 'Secret Sludge'. Whether it was supposed to be some kind of pork or beef, Ron couldn't say. All he knew was that it held some semblance to something which might have once been considered meat.

On his way to the cafeteria he noticed a tanned brunette girl busily talking on her cell phone as she walked. It looked as if she was lost in her own conversation, completely oblivious to the outside world. What could she have been yelling about? Something about bricks? Her discussion with the person on the other end of the line was interrupted when she slammed into Ron, despite his best efforts to evade her.

"Ow! Watch where you're going loser!" Bonnie squawked angrily.

A bewildered Ron looked back at her before answering. "Loser? I've never even met you before."

"Well obviously you're just some new kid in the school." Bonnie said placing her hands on her hips, looking Ron over from head to toe. Ron felt a bit uneasy under her scrutinizing glare. "And you look pretty weak and scrawny, I doubt you would ever play on any of the sports teams. Hence, loser."

With that Bonnie put her phone back to her ear and walked away like the incident had never even taken place. In no time she was back in the middle of her fervent conversation. Ron could only stare a few seconds in total disbelief before he continued to walk to the cafeteria. Before he could get in line to get his food he felt a finger tap on his shoulder.

"Hey, you're new here right?" A raven haired girl said to him.

"Yeah."

"I saw what happened with you and Bonnie. Don't let it get to you alright?"

"Yeah. She doesn't seem to like me."

The girl let out a small laugh at this.

"Oh don't worry. She doesn't like anyone. It's just that she hates some people a bit less than others."

"I won't lose any sleep over it."

"Good to know."

"Still though, it's just nicer to be tolerated than disliked."

"And, it's better to be liked than tolerated. My name's Monique." She said as she stuck out her hand.

"Hi, I'm Ron." He said as he took and shook her hand.

"I figured with it being your first day here and all you could use someone to talk to and show you around a bit."

"Yeah that would be awesome. So far today has not been a very good day."

"I know what you mean. This weather is awful. You know I've heard that people have done studies which say that you're more likely to feel depressed when it's all cloudy and gloomy like this."

"I wish it were just the weather. Let's just say that I've seen something today I could have done without for an entire lifetime."

"Well maybe getting some food in that stomach of yours will make you feel better. I hope you like mystery meat." Monique said with a slight grin creeping on her face.

"Mystery… meat?" Ron managed to say looking towards the lunch lady.

"Oh don't worry, it's not that bad once you get used to it. At least that's what I've heard. I have yet to get used to it."

Ron couldn't help but smile a bit as he and Monique moved to get in line and get their delicious meal.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim strode down the walls with a sense of purpose. She needed to talk about this latest turn of events. Monique would know what to do. She always knew what to do. Kim couldn't remember what she had ever done without the ebony skinned beauty before she had moved to Middleton earlier in the school year. She was indeed wise, so much so that sometimes it was scary.

As she entered the cafeteria where she knew Monique would be eating, she was ill prepared to receive yet another shock. There, sitting at one of the tables, was her best friend and her worst nightmare. Eating together. Laughing together. Seemingly having a great time. She slowly approached the table and began to overhear what the two were talking so passionately about.

"…And that's why Steel Toe is the man." Ron had been saying.

"No way Ron. Pain King will own your little steel punk." Monique responded with playful defiance.

"Hah!" Ron snorted. "Pain King can't even beat Kirk Angel or Boulder Johnston. How do you expect him to go one on one with the great Steel Toe?"

"Monique! What are you doing!" Kim shrieked.

"Oh hey Kim. I was just talking to Ron. He's new here and I just thought it would be nice if he could make at least one friend on his first day."

"But-"

"And then after school if the weather gets nicer we can go show him around town a bit, and then-"

"Monique!"

"What!?"

"This is the guy!"

"What guy?"

"The new guy!"

"Yes Kim, I already told you that he was new here."

"No not that new guy."

"How many new guys can there be here in one day?"

"No! Arg! He's my new foe! The one I've been telling you about!"

Monique studied Ron for a moment as he nervously looked up at the ceiling rubbing the back of his neck. She couldn't believe that was true. She didn't want to believe it either.

"Ron, is what she said for real?" She asked in a stern tone.

Ron was apprehensive in his response. "Well… kinda."

"And you!" Kim said pointing her finger only inches away from Ron's face. "I can't believe what you did to me on Saturday."

"What? What did I do?"

"You…" Kim began, seething with rage. "You took advantage of me that night in the park!"

Kim didn't realize it, but by this time all eyes were glued to her and Ron. Everyone in the cafeteria was silent, looking on in wonder at the conversation which was going on with Kim and Ron. Her last sentence had prompted a few hushed whispers and snickers on the part of the other students. Once she realized what she had said and how people might interpret it, Kim held her head up high and looked around at the many gawking faces focused on her.

"Oh what the heck are you perverts looking at! It's not what you think!" She roared furiously.

Her reaction had apparently done it's job as most of the onlookers resumed their own conversations and meals leaving the trio to work out their problems in a much more calm and quiet manner.

"I did not take advantage of you." Ron said defensively. "I would never do anything like that to a woman!"

"Not that you… you buffoon! You just left me unconscious in the middle of the park. Who knows what could have happened to me!"

"Hey, I stayed by your side until I was sure an ambulance was like half a block away. I would never leave anyone in that kind of position."

"Aw, that was kind of chivalrous of him to wait like that." Monique said, earning an icy glare from Kim. "I mean, uh, Ron! How could you!"

Ron only managed to shrug his shoulders a bit and gave a guilty, almost repentant smile. He was not at all prepared to be bombarded by the two women right now.

"Just… just get out of my town!" Kim said.

"Technically it's my town too." Ron corrected her.

"How so, you just moved here?"

"Correction, moved back here."

"What do you mean."

"I lived here a long time ago when I was still a baby. Then a few days before I was supposed to start pre-K, we moved to Go City. So now I'm back."

Kim was tired of arguing and it showed. She looked to Monique for help, for a way out of this conversation. Her friend did not disappoint.

"If you ever mess with my girl like that again," Monique said. "I'll make Steel Toe's 'Night Of A Thousand Bruises' look like a walk in the park. No pun intended." She added with a wink.

"Y-yeah. Sure thing Monique. No problems here." He said, utterly mortified at the thought.

Kim dragged Monique from the table and stormed out of the cafeteria leaving him sitting there alone.

"_So much for a fresh start."_ He thought sourly as he finished eating his mystery meat.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I don't know Kim, he seems like a really nice guy." Monique said as Kim was pacing back and forth in the hall.

"Well he's not. He's evil. He works for Drakken. End of story."

"Still… anyone who likes the GWA is fine by me. I say you give the boy a chance to explain himself."

"The only explaining he'll be doing is to a judge once I catch him in his next little crime spree." Kim lashed back angrily.

"Hey Kim." She heard a male voice say behind her.

"Oh. Josh! Hi!" Kim sputtered out as she turned around and saw him leaning against the lockers.

"So I sort of heard what happened back in the cafeteria. Are you okay?"

"Sort of… maybe." Kim sighed. "I'm a lot better now that you're here though."

"So about Saturday night…"

"I know, that was totally my fault. I didn't mean to blow you off like that. It's just that I had this way important mission to go on and I-"

"It's okay Kim. I understand."

"You do?"

"Yeah. It's a teen hero thing right?"

"Yeah, it really is." She said with a sigh of relief. What a wonderful guy Josh was to understand her.

"So I was thinking we could try again later this week. Just the two of us."

"Oh, yeah Josh. That would be great."

"Cool. I'll call you later with the details." He said before he walked down the hall to wherever his destination may have been.

Once Josh was out of sight of the two girls a wolfish grin formed on his face. How perfect was this? If Kim was willing to go that far with some new kid in town, imagine what _he _could do to her. He knew just how obsessed she was with him. He knew that she was wrapped around his finger. He was determined if she could really do _anything _as her motto said. If he had it his way she would be doing a lot more than just 'blowing him off', as she had so fittingly put it.


	5. Chapter 5

Authors Note: Thank you to everyone for your continued support. You guys are awesome. Seriously, you are. And I don't even care if I sound like Motor Ed there. Seriously bro, I don't.

Disclaimer. I don't own Kim Possible. Seriously. Seriously? Seriously!

XXXXXXXXXX

Tuesday had been a fairly uneventful day for Kim and Ron. The only class they shared was World History, and most of that was spent just trying not to make eye contact with each other. They did however share a table at lunch, but that was only under the watchful eye of Monique, who was their mutual friend. Ron sat mostly in silence looking down at his food trying not to set off any sort of explosive behavior on the part of Kim. Monique decided to try and break the tension.

"So Ron, what are you doing after school today?" She inquired.

"Well I figured I would just go home. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come hang out with Kim and me at Bueno Nacho later on."

"Oh. I suppose I could try that. If she wouldn't mind that is." He said nodding his head toward Kim.

"Don't worry, I won't mind. In fact I won't be joining you. You two go have fun without me." Kim said grudgingly.

"Kim it doesn't have to be like that." Monique pleaded. "Why not just give him a chance to tell you why he does that stuff. I'm sure there's a completely innocent explanation."

"Sorry Monique, I would rather not listen to his lies and tricks."

Monique let out a sigh as she realized that there would be no getting around this. If Kim didn't want to learn more about Ron, then she would have to. She would find out just what he did and why. Hopefully it would indeed be as innocent as she thought, then she could report back to Kim with some good news. All she wanted was for the three of them to get along together.

XXXXXXXXXX

Dr. Drakken had been applying the new data to one of his robots for the past couple of days. With any luck it would fix their artificial intelligence, or lack thereof. Behind the thick protective glass in one of the testing areas, he prepared to activate one of his newly modified creations. Pressing a few buttons on the control panel the behemoth came to life and immediately stood ready to receive orders.

"Destroy target A-1." He said coolly.

A split-second later the robot opened fire on the fixed target and utterly obliterated it with laser fire.

"Destroy target A-2."

Missile pods emerged from the shoulders of the robot and unleashed their fury on the other target. When the smoke cleared nothing of the target was left. Only a blackened and scorched wall remained as a testament to the robots power.

"It works. It works! It really really works!" He said jumping out of his chair in pure joy.

Shego had been standing a few feet behind him at the time watching the performance. She had to admit to herself, this was mildly impressive. But not too much so. She didn't want to get her hopes up that this plan would actually work. Working with Dr. Drakken for the past few years had taught her that there was always something that could go wrong when it came to his plans.

"Yeah, that's great and all. But what do you plan on doing with these things?" She asked.

"Now that my battle bots are fully operational, I shall conquer the world!" He said as he began to laugh maniacally.

Shego walked around and pinched his lips shut in mid-laugh earning a surprised look from her boss.

"Uh huh. Take over the world. Wow great plan." She said dully. "I'm looking for a bit more details than that though."

"Once I am able to obtain a few more critical items for my plan, I will take the fight right to my arch foe Kim Possible. When she is out of the picture no one will be able to stop me. No one!"

Shego began to open her mouth to speak again, but decided not to press on any further. Doing so risked a rant of epic proportions. She was content just knowing that soon they would be attacking the princess. Shego hated her with a passion. If the villainess had it her way, she would take Kim out of action for good. She had used lethal force in the past after all, before she had teamed up with Drakken. She wasn't afraid to use it again. Especially on the person who she despised most of all.

"Now it's time to add some customized commands to the program." Drakken stated proudly to himself.

Shego just stood by passively as she watched her employer tap his fingers across a keyboard for a few minutes before pressing the last one down with authority.

"You're gonna break it." She finally said.

"Break what?"

"I don't know. Whatever it is you're doing. Just stop messing with how the designers made it."

"I happen to be a genius Shego. Manipulating technology like this is child's play."

Shego could only sigh as she looked on at her boss for a few more seconds before walking away. A few minutes later in her quarters, a grin crossed her face as she heard a distant explosion and the nondescript yelling noises coming from Drakken.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim got home that day throwing her purse on her bed. What the heck was going on here? Why was Monique so trusting of Ron? She couldn't explain it. She didn't know what to do at the moment. Her usual source for advice and answers was being occupied by her new arch foe. Her mind was too busy to get started on her homework. She decided to go to watch some TV in an attempt to calm down.

She flipped through the channels for a few seconds before reaching the Fine Arts channel. This was good, some nice soothing music would be just what she needed right now. Maybe she would even learn a thing or two about the Baroque and Classical periods of music.

"…_And we can see here in Beethoven's use of the Sonata Rondo form in his piano sonata Op. 14 no. 1-"_

Kim grinded her teeth and changed the channel upon hearing those words. They brought back memories of standing in the park, hearing that egotistical ass calling himself "The Rondo". She once more began surfing through the channels before she got to Comedy Central. She could really use some humor right now. There was a commercial on at the time.

"…_Experience Rondoism! The all new 2005 Kia Rondo, starting at just 16,995. Hurry in today-"_

Another bust. This time she decided to turn on ESPN. Though she wasn't that big a fan of Sports Center, at least it would be something to watch to get her mind off of Ron.

"…_And in college hoops, University of Kentucky star Rajon Rondo had 12 points along with 5 rebounds and 4 assists-"_

With this she shut off her TV and angrily slammed the remote down. This was so not what she needed today. She just needed to relax. Trying to push all thoughts of Ron out of her mind, she began to think of Josh. She thought about their date coming up this Friday. She thought about how special it would be to just spend some time alone with him, with no missions. She had a good feeling about it.

And with that the phone began to ring. Checking the caller ID Kim was ecstatic to see that it was the boy she had just been thinking of. Not wanting to seem too desperate, she let it ring a couple of times before answering.

"Hello?"

"_Hey Kim. It's Josh."_

"Oh, hi Josh. What a surprise to hear from you."

_"Really? I said I would call later in the week."_

"Oh. Yeah, you did didn't you. I mean, um, what was I talking about again?"

"_Slow down Kim." _He laughed. _"I just wanted to call you to tell you more about Friday night."_

"Yeah…" She said dreamily.

"_I figured I would stop by and pick you up at around 7:00. Then we can go out and get some dinner and see a movie?"_

"Yeah… sounds great."

"_Okay cool. I'll see you at school tomorrow. Later."_

"Bye."

Kim had completely forgotten about the poor choice in words that had been on TV. Her thoughts were now focused on Josh. Josh, the nicest and most wonderful boy in Middleton High. Being with him would make Bonnie even more jealous if that was even possible. But Kim knew that wasn't why she was going out with him. She liked him because he was so sweet and sensitive, he wouldn't harm a fly. However, it didn't hurt to have Bonnie being annoyed as a bonus.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron and Monique sat in one of the booths quietly chatting about the days events. She seemed hesitant to just come right out and ask him the details of his life. If he really was a bad guy like Kim argued than he probably wouldn't be so forthcoming anyway.

"So I take it you like this place." Monique pointed out as Ron was gorging down his food.

"Yeah, you gotta love the delicious fried goodness of Bueno Nacho. This place may not have a Salsa Parade, but it will do I suppose."

"Salsa Parade?"

"Oh yeah it's great. Just bowl after bowl of salsa circling around the restaurant. Very festive."

"I can imagine."

"So what's the deal with you and Kim. I don't want to get in between you guys or anything." Ron said concerned.

"I'm sure she'll come around… eventually."

"It's nice that you want to give me a chance to tell my side of the story. But the truth is you already know it. Anything that Kim told you about me is probably true."

Monique was taken aback by this. "So you really do work for super villains? You're like a male Shego or something?"

"I guess. But I really don't do much fighting. Except against Kim. That's how I got this." He said pointing to his still bruised lip.

"Wow, I didn't know she had it in her."

"Yeah, she really kicked my butt that night. I barely made it out. But you already know that story."

"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you get started with all this. You just don't seem like someone who would be naturally good at doing evil."

"Yeah why not. It would be pretty cool to be able to tell someone for once. It all began about two years ago…"

XXXXXXXXXX

Fourteen year old Ron Stoppable was casually strolling down the sidewalk when he began to hear some strange sounds. Some of them were people, that was for sure. But what was going on, he had no idea. They were coming from around the corner that he was nearing, and growing closer by the second. He readied himself for whatever was coming next.

A flock of low flying birds suddenly whipped past him which threw Ron into a panic. They had come very close to colliding with him, which would have been no good for both him and the feathered creatures. That was when he saw an even stranger sight than before.

A man dressed in the visage of a bird came rumbling around the corner. Ron could see the desperation in his eyes. The stranger quickly looked around before laying eyes on Ron and then hurryingly ran up to the boy.

"Kid, I need you to do something-" He began to say.

"Cool! Are you in the circus?" Ron interrupted eagerly.

An idea formed in the strange mans mind.

"Yes… yes that's it. I'm in the circus. Will you do me a big favor?"

"Sure!"

"I need you to go stall the people who are chasing after me. It's all part of our routine. They are all dressed up as police officers."

"What do I look like? Some kind of distraction?" Ron bit back angrily.

"If you do this you could win a huge prize from the circus owners. They really appreciate it when people from the audience participate."

"Coolio! I'm all about winning prizes!"

"Good. Now hurry up, they'll be here any second."

The feathered man ran off as quickly as he came. Ron was filled with glee at the thought of such an important and cool job. He was determined to win this prize. He would be the best distraction he could possibly be.

Sure enough the cops came around looking for their quarry. They never stood a chance with Ron Stoppable standing in their way. The exact details of the aforementioned distraction have been lost to time. But by the time they had managed to continue their pursuit, the man they were seeking was long gone. Ron was brimming with pride. He had done such an awesome job. But where was the man who had put him up to this? Surely he wouldn't forget about the prize.

Ron waited for around twenty minutes before giving up. He started to walk home, his spirits dampened at the thought of being stood up like that. At least he had thought he did a good job as a distraction. He didn't know why but it just came so naturally to him. As he neared his home he passed by a dark alley and heard a voice emerge from it.

"Hey kid."

Ron's head snapped up and he looked around to find the source of the voice. Looking into the alley he recognized the strange bird man he had helped out. He emerged from his hiding place and grinned sadistically at Ron.

"Great work back there."

"You know I wasn't going to say anything, but I thought so too. So where's my prize?"

"Prize…" The man uttered to himself in deep thought. "Prize. Oh yes! I promised you a prize didn't I!"

"You sure did." Ron nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Yeah. Here, take this." He said as he tossed Ron a wad of money.

Ron looked wide eyed at the money in his hands. "W-where did you get all this?"

"From the bank I just robbed. The one that you helped me rob."

Ron felt sick to his stomach when he heard those words. What was he talking about? He was in the circus wasn't he? Ron simply couldn't believe that he had had a hand in helping this man rob a bank.

Ron was disconcerted to say the very least. "You, you mean that you used me to get away from the cops? That was for real?"

"Yes, you were most useful. Do you have any other skills that I could use?"

The last statement angered Ron to his very core. He balled up his fists and assumed a fighting stance that he had been taught in his early years of karate.

"I can tell you this much. If you don't get away from me right now I might just have to use them."

"Ah, aren't you a feisty one." The man grinned back at Ron. "So I take it you can fight. Let me tell you, I don't have to be your enemy. You have lots of potential kid. And there's some good money to be made in my line of work."

The man began digging in his pocket and produced a beeper. He gently tossed it to Ron, who almost dropped it due to the state of shock that he was in.

"Take this," The man began. "I may want to put you on the payroll. I'll keep in touch. By the way, my name is Aviarius."

Ron stood there dumbfounded, holding a beeper as Aviarius stalked away into the dark shadows of the alley. He knew deep down that even considering doing anything more for this man was wrong. He felt absolutely awful knowing that he had assisted a criminal. But then again he was only fourteen at the time. The idea of money spoke to him. What young teen wouldn't be interested in a way to get their hands on some quick and easy cash?

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, that's the whole story." Ron said to Monique as he went back to eating his food.

"So, you could have stopped at any time. You just like the money?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"But isn't that kind of dangerous?"

"It can be. But it beats working at Club Banana."

"Don't be dissing Club B, Ron." Monique said warningly.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." He said holding his hands up defensively.

Ron stared at his food for a few moments. An idea had suddenly struck him. These plain boring nachos and tacos, there had to be a better way. Compared to the wraps that he had enjoyed in Go City, this stuff was almost second rate. He was certain there was a way to augment this simple little meal.

He grabbed a handful of nachos and held them hesitantly over his open taco. Monique just eyed him suspiciously, not quite knowing what was going on. He pondered this important decision for what seemed like hours. Finally he thought better of it, and returned the nachos to their own place on his food tray.

"Something the matter Ron?" Monique asked inquisitively.

"Nah, just a little idea. Nothing that important."

"If you say so."

The thought was still in his mind. Finally he was able to dispel it for the most part.

"_Besides, who would ever want to eat, much less pay for a taco with nachos inside. That's just not normal. It's disgusting." _He thought.

"_Never be normal Ron." _Another part of him said.

Ron looked back and forth between the tacos and nachos. This was quite the conundrum. He didn't know what to do about it. Finally he just decided to let it be, and began munching on his taco again.

"_Maybe I'll be feeling braver tomorrow…"_ He told himself.

XXXXXXXXXX

The week continued to go by with no further negative incidents. It was Thursday morning now and Kim had been excused to go use the washroom. As she walked down the hall, she thought about her dreaded Advanced Biology test she had next period. That was when she heard a familiar voice. It was his voice. Standing around the corner, he was talking to someone. Kim decided to go investigate.

She silently moved to within a few feet of where Ron was, standing just around the corner in a secluded area by the stairway. There he was, talking on a cell phone. He was speaking fairly quietly, obviously something was up. Kim was determined to find out just what he was up to.

"No no, it will be fine. I promise you I can do it." He tried saying reassuringly.

A brief period of silence followed as whoever Ron was talking to was responding. Kim leaned in as close as she dared without risking getting seen if he were to turn around.

"Yes, Friday will be fine. When will my ride be ready to pick me up?"

"_Friday, eh Ron?"_ Kim thought. _"You are so going down."_

Ron continued a bit of boring chit chat for about another minute before it sounded like the conversation was winding down. Kim prepared herself for a swift exit once he had hung up.

"Okay, so I'll see you in Seattle." He said as he ended his call and slipped his phone back into his baggy cargo pants.

Ron started walking back to class. He never suspected the auburn haired cheerleader had been near. It was apparently a job of significant importance, as his patron was willing to pay more than usual for a typical heist. He and Rufus would not let the crazed super villain down.

Ron paused for a second with that thought. Why, he couldn't say. But there was something troubling in the back of his mind. He couldn't quite put his finger on it though. He dismissed it as nothing but pre-mission jitters though.

XXXXXXXXXX

As soon as she had gotten home, Kim contacted her computer guru Wade. She was taking no risks this time.

"Hey Kim what's up?" The boy said as his screen turned on to reveal the face of the teen heroine.

"Great news Wade, I know where Ron's going tomorrow."

"What? Where, how? Drakken and Dementor finally decided to stop posting their blogs on Villainster."

"I overheard a little conversation today he was having. He's going to Seattle tomorrow. So I'm going to tail him and bust him when he gets to wherever he's going."

"Sounds like a good plan, but what if he has an even better escape one?" Wade said slightly worried. "You know he has escaped the past two times."

"Yeah I know. I'm going to be calling GJ as soon as I get there. Even if he does somehow manage to worm his way out of this sitch they'll be right behind him."

"Okay Kim, so what do you need me for?"

"I'm going to want constant satellite coverage of the area we're in. You can do that, right Wade?" She said with a knowing smile.

"Piece of cake. No one's getting out of my sight tomorrow night." He said cracking his knuckles with delight.

"Good to know I can always count on you when I need some help."

"I do what I can."

"And don't ever stop doing it. See ya Wade."

The screen blinked off and Kim put the kimmunicator down on the table. A smug smile settled on her features. Tomorrow was going to be a wonderful day indeed.


	6. Chapter 6

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews. I know I should start replying to them but like Ron, procrastination is one of the few skills I've mastered. You guys are the reason I keep writing, thank you again.

Disclaimer: Possible Kim own not do I.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim was standing by her locker gathering up books in preparation for her next class when Monique sidled up beside her eagerly.

"So Kim, looking forward to tonight?" She asked.

"You know it Mon." Kim said satisfyingly

"I still can't believe it's taken this long for you two to finally hook up."

"Well what can I say? He's not like any guy I've ever met before."

"You've got that right. The hair, those gorgeous eyes. And who knows how good looking he is underneath those clothes."

Kim's eyes got wide at the description Monique was giving. She slowly turned her head and looked at her friend oddly.

"Uh, Monique?"

"Yeah Kim?"

"Let's not talk about him like that ever again. Ever."

"What? Why not?"

"Well if I didn't know any better I would say you were crushing on him."

"Me? No way girlfriend. I know he's off the market. I would never do anything like that to you."

"Wait… what?" Kim said. She was puzzled at the moment.

"You know, Josh. He's with you. Everyone in the school knows that."

"Oh. OH!" Kim said awkwardly.

"Why, who did you think I was talking about?"

"Well for a minute I thought you were talking about… Ron."

"Why would I be talking about Ron?" Monique laughed. "What's he got to do with tonight? Isn't tonight your big date with… no don't tell me Kim."

"Tell you what?"

"That you forgot? Again?"

The sudden realization that Kim had a date with Josh tonight hit her. No! How was that even possible? That's twice now that she had been so hung up on Ron that she had completely forgotten about Josh. She couldn't explain why the brown eyed villain had taken such a priority in her life. So much so that it overshadowed the biggest crush of her young teen life.

"Well…" Kim said sheepishly.

"So wait, you have another date with Ron scheduled for tonight?" Monique asked.

"Eww. So not a date."

"Still, you have plans to meet him again tonight."

"Well… yeah kinda."

"So you met him last Friday, and you're going out to try and capture him again tonight? Why does it seem like Friday's have become your official Ron nights?"

"They are not my 'Ron nights' Monique. It's just that he decides to be a major pain the butt on weekends."

"Still, what do you plan on doing about Josh?"

"I had better call him and tell him that I have to cancel again. He understood last time, he will again tonight, right?"

"Absolutely Kim. There isn't a bad bone in that boys body."

"Yeah but I think I'll wait until after school to do it. You know, I can just call him up and hopefully get his machine. It would be way too difficult doing it face to face."

"No arguments here Kim."

Kim glanced up at the clock in the hall. If they didn't hurry, the two teens would be late for their next class.

"Come on, we had better get going. We don't want Barkin giving us detention for being late."

And with that the two dashed down the halls as fast as they could hoping that the aforementioned teacher wouldn't spot them. He had taken over their Art class as well as World History for the semester. Mr. Barkin was not the most artistic of people though so he did very little teaching in that course. It was mostly up to the students to accomplish whatever they set out to do. Most of them produced stunning works of art under the watchful eyes of Barkin though. There would be no slacking off if he had anything to say about it.

XXXXXXXXXX

The school day had ended and Ron was tired. He had put up with an entire week under the suspicious gaze of Kim. It was just so uncomfortable being this close to someone who had turned into his arch foe. Ron didn't know if villains could even have arch foes. She would be called an arch nemesis right? It was all so confusing to him. But then again Ron didn't consider himself a villain either. So where did that leave Kim?

The flight that his patron had bought him a ticket for was scheduled to leave at 7:30. So he had plenty of time to chill out and take the rest of the day slow. At least until he got on that plane. He was happy it was a commercial flight, and happier still that he didn't need to buy a ticket. Whatever he was stealing tonight was important, and his backer wasn't holding back when it came to expenses. Apparently the good of the item far outweighed the cost of a plane ticket and salary that Ron would be earning tonight.

He thought about what had occurred the past week. So far the results were a mixed bag. On one hand he had found out that he went to the same school as the person who hated his guts, and had been called a loser by one of the most popular and influential people in school. He still felt it was odd that Bonnie had done that. Maybe he would try to join one of the sports teams just to show her up. He could imagine the expression on her face if he joined the football team in the fall. Or if he were somehow able to join the cheer squad. That would be the ultimate insult.

On the other hand, he had made a friend. Monique was very nice and understanding about his lifestyle. He knew she didn't agree with it, or even like it for that matter. But at least she understood that deep down he was a good person. He would never really try to harm anyone, or willingly let someone be hurt. If a time came where one of the super villains ever did threaten the world, he would seriously have to reconsidering his way of thinking. But for now he didn't have to worry about it. They were foiled every time, mostly thanks to the actions of Kim Possible.

Ron had been very careful about taking his call in school the other day. There was no one around that could have heard him. What he didn't want were people thinking he was some sort of freak. A crime fighter, they could deal with. They more than just tolerated Kim. They respected and revered her. But if the general public were to find out that Ron were someone that she battled against, that would definitely ruin his chances of any sort of social redemption in his new school. He already had enough people mocking him and calling him a loser to last a lifetime.

All throughout his childhood he was weird and goofy, and very innocent at that. But there had been no one that accepted him for all that he was. He couldn't really say he had ever had a best friend. So he had worked hard to try and change who he was, and hide his true personality. He had essentially built up a wall around himself and shut other people out. These days when most people saw him, he was very quiet, very professional in his demeanor. There were few times he felt that he could let his guard down and act like his normal goofy self. Maybe Monique would be that friend he had been searching for. He had already shared details with her that no one else knew about. Hopefully she wouldn't tell Kim.

Ron decided to watch a movie to help pass the time. Bricks of Fury. The original That would do. He got the DVD out and popped it in the player. He didn't really like Bricks of Fury II. The plot in that one was pretty bad. Something about an airport and lots of snow. It totally reeked of weakness in his opinion. He knew that III would be coming out sometime next year, and he couldn't wait for that. He settled onto the couch and grabbed the remote as he prepared to watch the disgruntled security guard save a high rise building in Los Angeles.

XXXXXXXXXX

Josh slammed down his phone in anger. He was being ditched again. Cast aside. It was a feeling that he did not enjoy one bit.

Kim and her missions. Of course he "understood" why she did them. And he especially wanted to make that clear when he talked to her. He was a nice person, no doubt. An understanding one too. It wasn't as if the way he behaved was all an act to get into some girls pants. That was just a bonus. But he was also an arrogant person as well. And with good reason. With his looks and talents he could have almost any girl in the school. Kim wasn't alone in her utter fascination in him.

Looking around the room he realized he had nothing to do. He had been so looking forward to this night. All of that preparation for nothing. And for some stupid little mission. He thought that Kim needed to realize that the world wasn't going to end if she let some madman steal some laser or take over the city of Boise. After all, they were getting foiled on a regular basis by a sixteen year old cheerleader. How dangerous or cunning could these villains be?

Josh thought back to the cafeteria incident. How had Kim known that new kid before he came to school that day? Exactly how close was she to him? Was there something between the two? Maybe he was the reason that Kim canceled for tonight. What if she was really lying about the mission and planning to see him? Josh knew that if anyone knew the truth about the situation it would be Monique. She knew everything about everything when it came to the politics of Middleton High School. And it wouldn't hurt matters that she was Kim's best friend.

A slight smile curled on Josh's lips. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

XXXXXXXXXX

The lair of Dr. Drakken was rarely a quiet place. Between the construction of his doomsday machines and yelling of Shego, it was hard to find a day when there was not something going on. But today was one of those rare days.

Drakken sat at his desk, his tiny hands covering his face. His robotic minions had done the exact opposite thing he had wanted to do, they had destroyed each other. Somehow the programming had been corrupted. Now nearly all of his metal constructs had been reduced to scrap metal.

Shego stalked silently down the halls as she realized that the past few days there had been very little activity in the lair. It had been ever since Drakken's latest plan had been foiled before it had even started. This had to be a record in speed. And now he had even moved on to self-foiling. This did not sit well with the green-hued villainess. She may have liked they money, the freedom, and all the other perks that came with being evil, but she wanted to win too. Pride was one of her greatest attributes.

As she strode into the main chamber she looked at her boss sitting at his desk. Though she didn't have particularly strong feelings for him in any manner, for some reason she did a bit of pity him at this moment. He tried so hard, she had to admit. Some of his plans had actually been somewhat decent, maybe. She couldn't imagine what it could be like to life with so much failure. What was even more alien to her was how he was still able to remain optimistic time after time when it came to his evil schemes.

She quietly moved next to him and put a hand on his shoulder, eliciting a small frightened cry from the man.

Her voice sounded mechanical and lacked the caring emotion that usually came with this choice of words. "Don't worry Dr. D. It's going to be okay."

He shot a skeptical look at her. "Okay? Okay!? How can you say it will be okay!? My entire army was destroyed!"

"Just think about all the other times you have failed before." She said with a smile plastered on her face. "You have always gotten right back on your feet. Then again maybe you shouldn't think about all of your past failures. There are just too many to remember."

"Shego your words hurt."

"Yeah well, the truth will do that sometimes."

There was an awkward moment of silence for a few seconds before she spoke up again.

"So what's our next move?"

He slouched down in his chair. "Who cares. Just go off and enjoy your Friday night."

That struck Shego as just a bit odd. He was aware it was a Friday night and he had no interest in a night of evil karaoke. Usually when he was unhappy about a failed plan he would drag her along to the bar where she would sit in utter embarrassment while he sang what he thought was a good rendition of the latest 'Oh Boyz' songs. But tonight, it appeared she was free to go off and have some fun. Or rob a store. Or have some fun and rob a store.

Then again, she wasn't all heartless. Perhaps there was a way to not only satisfy her desire to do evil and make her boss happy. This months issue of 'Evil People' had the latest list of top targets for thieving. An earthquake simulator in Baltimore, mind control devices in Atlanta, or the plans to a gigantic laser in Seattle. She decided on the last one, simply because it was the closest. A near cross-country flight alone with Dr. Drakken was not one of the things topping her to do list.

"Hey doc, you up for a trip to Washington?"

"State or capital?"

"State."

"Why?"

"There are plans to a sophisticated new laser there. I figure we can steal it and you can build it. See? A whole new evil plan right there."

"You're right Shego!" He suddenly exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat. "With the proper materials I can build an orbiting weapon of doom and make the world bow to me! I can build my very own Death Star!" He said while rubbing his hands together in glee.

With that he set off to prepare for their trip to Seattle.

Shego gave a small sigh. "Death Star… I've got a bad feeling about this."

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron had boarded the plane without incident. As he sat down in his seat he decided to purchase the headphones so he could listen to the in-flight movie. He always did think that was a rip off. If people bought a ticket they should be entitled to that basic necessity.

He casually observed the people around him. The seat to his right was occupied by a man in business attire. Directly behind him was a woman and her baby. The flight was expected to last a couple of hours, so the infant was bound to start crying somewhere in the middle of the trip. In front was an older man who looked like he was ready to fall asleep. This didn't bode well. He hoped the seats didn't recline on this plane.

Slipping on his headphones and waited for the movie to start. He wondered what they might pick. It would have to be something suitable for most audiences, so that ruled out ninety percent of the good stuff. That also had to mean it wouldn't be Bricks of Fury II. That was one victory at least. At least that's what he thought. When the movie began, he recognized it to be a Rob Schneider picture. It was none other than 'The Animal'.

"Nooooooooooooooo!" Ron screamed out as he frantically clawed the headphones off.

Passengers all around were perplexed as they stared at him. Ron realized he was breathing heavily and tried to regain his composure.

"Uh…" He started to stay, trying to think of an excuse. "I just realized I could have saved a lot of money if I had used Travelocity?" In reality, he hated Travelocity and its terrible garden gnome mascot. It haunted him, as did the evil gnome in his garage.

A few people mumbled in agreement at his supposed plight. He was able to pick out a few of them saying things like 'poor kid' and 'rookie mistake'. But Ron didn't so much care about that. His thoughts immediately turned to what he would do to pass the time. Suddenly the seat in front of him lowered back onto his lap, the older man fast asleep and beginning to drool. It was coming precariously close to making contact with Ron. To further compound Ron's troubles, the baby behind him started crying and screaming for no apparent reason. The mother and father did their best to sooth her, but to no avail.

Looking beside him he could see sympathy in the business man's eyes. He was thankful that he at least didn't have to deal with the drool. Nether he or Ron spoke a word, for there was nothing to be said. The lone man was a veteran of scores of flights and understand all too well what Ron was going through. Sometimes you just had to deal with situations like this. People say that what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. At this particular moment Ron didn't care too much about that philosophy.

"This is just great." He muttered to himself.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim felt the plane begin to move. They would be in the air soon. That meant that she would be sitting here in almost total darkness for the next couple of hours. It was nothing new to her though. She often had to take less glamorous forms of transportation when going on a mission. It was rare to get to sit back, relax, and enjoy a nice flight to wherever she was going.

She had managed to sneak into the cargo hold of the commercial airliner that Ron boarded. Disguised as one of the baggage loaders she easily was able to access it. Not only that but she managed to track down the piece of luggage that she saw him carry when he was going to the airport and place a tracking device on it provided by Wade. This was the final straw. Third time's the charm. The game would end tonight. She had to admit that out of all the villains she had ever fought he was one of the most competent. Although it wasn't as if the bar was set very high.

She thought again how much of a pain this was becoming. She could have been out on a pleasant date with Josh. She could have been living a normal life. But no, she wanted to do these missions. Sitting alone in the belly of a giant aircraft. That's the path she had chosen. It wasn't too late to turn back, and she knew this. But then she thought about all of the people who she would be letting down. Including herself. This was just a part of her. She lived for this. The thrill of the fight, the gratitude of the innocents that she helped. The fact that she was in her own way making the world a better place. That was just who she was. That's why she volunteered so much around the community.

"_Who cares if I don't live a normal life."_ She thought, filled with new resolve. _"This is better than anything that the 'regular' people in school do. This is the lifestyle so many people dream of. Traveling the world. Being famous. Being a hero. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. No one can have it all. And besides, I'm a Possible. We're not exactly known for doing things by the book."_

Activating her kimmunicator she set an alarm to go off in about one and a half hours. She decided to try and get a bit of rest before landing in Seattle. No one would hear the sound back here. It was deserted. And she felt it.

XXXXXXXXXX

After disembarking from the plane Ron was able to hail a cab to take him within walking distance of the target location. He didn't want to go directly to the site in case there was anyone on guard duty. It would look fairly suspicious for a taxi to pull up in front of the lab after work hours and see a young man attempting to get inside. Ron resolved to scout the area first with not only his own set of eyes, but Rufus' as well. The little mole rat was an excellent outrider and was able to report important information back to Ron that he might have missed.

The streets in this part of the city were pretty deserted even for a Friday night. There wasn't much in this neighborhood anyway. No clubs, no bars, nothing that would attract the typical crowds. It was a business district with nothing but stores and corporate buildings as far as the eye could see.

Ron approached within a couple hundred feet of the building in question. He was hugging close to the wall of a building in an alley, trying to stay out of sight from anyone who might be a threat to the covert operation. Reaching down into his pocket he retrieved Rufus and revived the pink rodent from his slumber.

"Okay Rufus, show time. I need you to go and see if you can find any guards on duty and if there are any weak spots in that chain link fence."

Rufus' facial expression turned serious as he lifted his paw to his head in a salute and scampered off to down the sidewalk to the lab. Normally a small rodent like him would be in danger of being attacked by the many predators in the wild. But Rufus had thrashed enough cats and possums in his lifetime to no longer be afraid of them. He was constantly vigilant whenever he was alone in these situations. He would be able to smell any incoming attackers. And if they did come, they wouldn't be leaving in one piece. The razor sharp teeth of the mole rat could saw through fur and flesh like they were paper.

Ron looked though his tiny binoculars he had dug out of his pocket and scanned for possible patrolling guards. So far there was nothing. The approach looked very clear. Behind the fence there was a clear path that led to a door. But Ron would not be taking the front door. It was just not his style. He was counting on Rufus to report the location of a back door, or even a ventilation duct on the side of the building. That would be ideal.

Tense minutes passed as Ron waited on Rufus' return. When he finally did, Ron did not even notice that he was near. The little guy was certainly a master of stealth. He was able to melt into the shadows during broad daylight. And when conditions were like the present ones, nearly nightfall, it made Rufus all the more effective. Ron jumped slightly as the rodent climbed up his pant leg and crawled comfortably back into his pocket.

"So Rufus, anything?"

Sticking his head out of the pocket Rufus shook his head confidently and explained in his own little way how there was no one present on the site. He also revealed the location of a back door and happily reported that it had been easy to squeeze through the cracks of the old building and get into the building and demolish the locking mechanism from the inside. He had also reported that there were no cameras present. That seemed odd for a lab which supposedly contained a valuable piece of technology, but Ron trusted his companion.

Ron slowly began to make his way toward the fence. The barbed wire didn't look very appealing. There would be no climbing over it tonight. Luckily he had indeed been informed of the weak spot in the fence by his partner. He swiftly kicked it a few times in order to bend the metal enough to make a small hole for him to crawl through. Now inside he advanced around the building to the location of the back door.

He had no clue that he had been shadowed the entire way, and was being watched intently from afar.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim allowed Ron to get through the fence unmolested as she crept through the shadows of the city. She knew that Wade was watching the entire situation unfold from back in Middleton. He would call her if any unexpected developments occurred. For now though she waited until he was around the corner of the building before she too went through to the other side.

When it was clear Kim to begin her approach she began moving toward the fence. Looking up she was not intimidated by the barbed wire on top of the enclosure. Taking a few steps back, she made a swift sprint right at the fence. She jumped onto the fence, and in a display of acrobatic skill and agility vaulted herself over the top, clearing the vicious barbed wire by about a foot. She landed gracefully in a crouch on the other side and stood up, dusting her hands clear of the dirt. While it would have no doubt been easier just to go through the opening in the fence as Ron did, Kim didn't want to. She liked jumping over stuff.

Walking around the same direction that Ron had gone she noticed that the back door was ajar. To her it seemed pretty sloppy. Anyone who might have been around this area would have noticed that. Then again, this place didn't even have security. And the area was enclosed by the fence. There would be no one around to notice any anomalies. She thought that was fairly clumsy of the people in charge of the lab. Once more, she was going to have to make up for their mistakes.

Grabbing the kimmunicator from his pocket she put in a call to Global Justice. She was immediately put through to Dr. Betty Director who was surprised to be hearing from Kim concerning a mission. Normally Kim did not ask for GJ's help. The relationship between them had been soured by the clash of attitudes of her and Will Du. When Kim explained the situation to Betty, the head of Global Justice was skeptical at first. But she soon realized that Kim would not be calling for help for no reason. She informed Kim that a team of field agents would be dispatched to her current location to assist in the pickup.

Kim smiled as she prepared to enter the building. _"Game over."_


	7. Chapter 7

Authors Note: Thanks again to everyone who cares about this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

The interior of the lab was dark. It was lonely. Ron didn't expect much more though. After all, it was after hours. He anticipated this being just another one of those easy missions where he was in and out in five minutes. That's what it was supposed to be like in Sacramento too. But plans changed very quickly when a certain red head decided to show up.

He really didn't know what he was supposed to be looking for. Professor Dementor had instructed him to steal the plans to a newly developed laser. But Ron hadn't a clue where one would store such plans. Were they on paper, or somewhere on a computer? The possibilities were seemingly endless. But at least he knew which room they were located in. That was a start.

Lab room 602. There was nothing too significant about it. Some desks with computers on them and neatly stacked piles of paper. He decided to look through the papers first as they were easily accessible. After a few seconds of reading his head began to hurt.

"What the heck is this stuff?" He groaned.

The formulas and statistics on the papers were something that his high school mind was not at all familiar with. But one thing was for certain. These were not the plans to a laser. What he was looking for not only contained some weird numbers, but blueprints as well. He felt around in one of his pockets for his flash drive. A slight smile formed on his face when he found it. Now would definitely not be the time to have no way of getting the information off of the computer. And he didn't much want to do the old 'e-mail yourself the data' trick either. Not when something like that would be so traceable. He heard a voice behind him as he turned on the computer.

"You know Ron, you're getting sloppy." The female voice said. "That door was just wide open for me."

Ron jumped in surprise when he suddenly realized he was not alone. "Don't do that!"

Her vision narrowed at him. "So sorry Ron. Now then, the game is up. You've been caught in the act. And this time you get no option of coming quietly."

"You know if I didn't know any better, I would say you have a thing for me."

Her response was nothing short of being repulsed. "Me? A thing for you? That's disgusting. You're disgusting. This whole sitch is disgusting."

"Well think about it." He said as his body began to relax a little. "You've ditched your boyfriend for me the past two Friday nights. One would think that counts as having a thing for me."

"He is not my boyfriend." She protested. Although she didn't exactly know why she was saying that. She would absolutely love if that were true. "And just how the heck do you know about Josh and me?"

"The Ron-man has ways of obtaining information." He said with a smug smile.

"Monique told you, didn't she." It was a statement, not a question.

"Well, kinda. She really knows what's going on with people in school."

At that moment her kimmunicator began beeping its familiar sound. She was either too focused on Ron at the moment to answer it, or simply didn't care.

"Whatever. That's not important right now. What is important is that you're right where I want you. Game over Rondo."

As she began advancing toward the seemingly defeated Ron, a powerful explosion above them ripped open a small portion of the ceiling. As the dust settled and the smoke cleared the outline of Dr. Drakken's hover car came into view.

She whipped out her beeping kimmunicator and answered it. She gave Wade no chance to speak before she began.

"Wade it was a trap!" She announced loudly. "What's the ETA on GJ?"

"What is it with you and traps?" Ron interrupted. "As if I'm smart enough to think of some brilliant operation like that. Wait, that came out wrong."

"So the fact that you and the guy you work for are both here is supposed to convince me that this isn't a trap?" She asked incredulously.

"Uh… yes? And besides, I'm not working for him tonight."

Wade was quite displeased by the fact that he had not even gotten a word in yet. Here he was trying to warn Kim of Dr. Drakkens arrival, and she hadn't even had the courtesy to respond until it was too late.

"If you two are finished gossiping, Global Justice forces will be there in approximately twenty minutes. Until then-"

"Twenty minutes until who gets here?" Drakken interrupted. Wade was getting very tired of this.

"Global Justice." Ron answered.

"Hey, it's you. That guy who works for me. What are you doing here? I didn't hire you for tonight… did I?" He turned his head nervously toward Shego. "Shego I don't think the budget can handle building a Death Star and keeping him on the payroll."

"Relax doc, you didn't hire him for tonight. Though I am curious myself as to why he's here." Out of the corner of her eye she realized that Kim was in the room as well. "Oh look, Kimmie is here too!" Her tone then turned to sarcasm. "This night just keeps on getting better."

The three parties all looked anxiously at each other, trying to anticipate the others next move. But then a realization came to Dr. Drakken.

"Blonde headed kid!" He shouted, pointing his finger at Ron. "Go take care of Kim Possible while we escape with the plans to our new laser."

Ron shook his head before he responded. "Sorry dude, but it's like you said. I don't work for you tonight. So you're not getting away with anything that I came for."

Drakken was visibly angry. "You buffoon! You worked for me in the past. We're on the same side. It's three against one right now. We could finish Kim Possible off forever tonight."

"Hey, did you just call me a buffoon?" He said, outraged at the insult. "I am not a buffoon. I don't even know what a buffoon is."

"Shut up!" Kim and Shego said to him simultaneously. After that their eyes locked, and the two female combatants slowly began to study each other in preparation for a fight.

Ron's voice was slightly lower after the combined chastising of the two ladies. "Seriously though, what is it? Some kind of monkey?"

His last question went unanswered by everyone as Kim and Shego were now within striking distance of each other. Unlike Ron, Kim knew that Shego was a definite threat, and possessed martial skill that was nearly equal to her own. She knew that she had to take out the green-skinned woman before moving on to the two men, who would be easy prey.

Shego lashed out with her right fist that Kim was able to avoid before swinging a left hook aimed at Kim's jaw. Again the teen heroine evaded the blow and was able to back away from Shego using a handspring.

Kim now took the offensive as she charged, bringing her own fist trying to make contact with Shego's face. The villainess blocked the blow, but was surprised when she was doubled over in pain as Kim's knee was driven into her gut.

Shego snarled as she swiftly recovered and once more lunged at her hated foe.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron inserted his flash drive into the computer as he searched the hard drive for the data he sought. While he may not have been an expert on computers, he was able to find his way around and knew the locations a file like this could be kept.

"Boo yah!" He shouted in triumph as he found what he was looking for.

As the file transfer began, he glanced over at Dr. Drakken who was fumbling through the pile of papers that Ron had already searched through. As the electronic process was completed, Ron removed the small device and began walking toward the door that he had entered through.

But as he passed by Drakken, he couldn't help but gloat a bit. "Sorry man, but I already have the info right here. Oh, and I deleted the rest of it on the computer. Too bad, so sad."

Drakken's expression was one of panic. "What! Why would you do such a thing? We're all in this together!"

"Maybe you will think of that the next time your check bounces!" Ron bit back angrily. It was apparently a little too loud, as Kim and Shego ceased their duel for a few seconds.

"Hah!" Shego spat, pointing and laughing at Drakken. "I told you that you were cheap. That's why you have us steal everything for you. Even the groceries." After that she resumed the melee with Kim.

But Drakken was not one to give up so easily. This information was after all the key to his newest evil plot. His face turned serious as he took a step in Ron's direction.

"Hand over the flash drive now, you incompetent little oaf." He said as he reached his arm out and opened his palm so that Ron could place the device in it.

"Read my lips. Noooooooooooooooooooooo." Ron said slowly as he began walking again. He never expected to be tackled to the floor by the blue-skinned madman.

The arm with the flash drive was above his head as he struggled to keep it away from the man who was pinning him to the floor.

"Give. Me. That. Thing!" Drakken managed to get out as he grappled with Ron on the ground for control over the flash drive.

"Ow! Dude get off me!"

"Not until the information is AHHHH!"

An enraged Rufus had emerged from Ron's pocket and bit into one of Drakken's small fingers. As blood dripped from Drakken's finger Rufus continued the assault as he tore through the villains pants and began to gnaw on one of his legs.

"Get it off me get it off me!" He screamed in both pain and fear. "Shego help me!"

When the naked mole rat finally released it's grip, Drakken decided to crawl over to a corner and nurse his two wounds. From there at least he would be able to have a good view of the battle between Kim and Shego.

XXXXXXXXXX

The two women had been exchanging blows for the past few minutes now and neither had been able to gain that significant of an advantage. Shego as usual was the more aggressive of the two and repeatedly threw lefts and rights at Kim, who was naturally able to elude most of the potential damage.

Occasionally though the two fighters did manage to successfully strike each other. Kim was currently sporting a black left eye while Shego suffered a busted lip and sore jaw. They once more broke off from their melee and circled around each other getting ready for the next round of action.

That was when Kim noticed that Drakken was down, and in the corner sucking on one of his fingers. Normally this would but nothing out of the ordinary, but that was only when she was in the process of destroying one of his lairs and foiling his latest scheme. But things seemed pretty even at the moment. So why then would he seem so fazed by this battle?

Her answer came as she saw Ron walked toward the exit. While Shego had kept her occupied this whole time, Ron was able to acquire whatever it was that he had came for. So it would appear that Drakken had lost this battle. But Kim couldn't look at this like a win-win situation where no matter what one of her foes lost. This was a lose-lose situation for her if Ron or Drakken got away with their prize. And the only way to get to Ron was through Shego, despite the fact that they apparently weren't on the same side.

So Kim decided to try something a bit out of the ordinary for her and restart the fray herself. Usually she would wait and let Shego strike first, most of the time into a carefully prepared trap. But there was no time to waste on this occasion. And she seriously doubted that she could convince Shego to help her stop Ron on the behalf of Drakken and his plan. Shego just didn't roll that way.

So it was Kim who reignited the fire of this fight, rushing at Shego attempting to spin the villainesses head around with a left fist. This blow was ducked, as was the spinning backhand that followed immediately afterward. The assault continued as Kim's left knee strike was caught by Shego, who then proceeded to viciously head butt Kim in her nose, sending the redhead stumbling backwards.

A smile curled on Shego's lips as she saw blood slowly trickle down into Kim's lips. She was a bit dazed from the blow, but clearly still ready to fight. But that wouldn't last long if Shego had anything to say about it.

But she decided to savor the moment for now. "What's wrong Kimmie, afraid of a little blood?"

Rather than answering Kim launched herself once more at Shego. What she was not expecting was the boot of Shego to be driven into her ribs. Kim flew back a few feet falling to the ground in pain clutching her midsection. It took a few moments before she began to stir.

It was time to end this. Shego reached down to the pouch on her left leg, producing a sheathed knife. She removed the covering to reveal a rather cruel looking blade, looking with murderous intent in Kim's direction.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron had been in the process of leaving when he saw that Shego and Kim had starting fighting again. Not one to miss a good show, he stood in the doorway and watched the exchange between the two beautiful women. Both now bore several flesh wounds from their conflict but were still ready and willing to continue. That was until Kim was knocked hard to the ground.

The knife that Shego held in her clawed hand sent shivers down Ron's spine. "Well that's an unexpected twist." He said in surprise.

He looked around to see if anyone planned on doing anything about this. The unarmed Kim Possible didn't stand a very good chance against an armed, trained opponent such as Shego, despite her claim to be able to do anything.

He took a step forward. "Uh, Shego? What's up with the knife?"

She didn't look back at him when she responded. "Some thing are just done best the old fashioned way."

Those words held obvious meaning behind them. "Well… as much as that might be true for some things, I don't think that this is one of them."

"Get lost kid." She snapped back at him. "This is between the princess and me."

Ron stood frozen for a moment, pondering what he should do. On one hand, this was none of his business as Shego had said. Those two weren't even supposed to be here tonight. They got themselves into this mess, and they could get themselves out of it. Besides, Shego's track record against Kim in the past was less than impressive.

But on the other hand, Kim was down, bloodied, and Shego did possess a knife. Something inside Ron told him to throw all their past battles out the window. This one stood alone in terms of the situation. Then something else crept into his mind. Something that he never imagined he would have to think about. The thought that someone could get hurt while he did his job, or in this case, even killed. He couldn't just leave when he could do something about this potential murder, right? Even if she was an enemy of his.

He glanced in Kim's direction and saw a look of fear in her eyes. It was unlike the many harsh glares he had received from her since they first met. Here tonight in Seattle was not the brave and confident girl he had come to know and quite frankly loath. Here was a person who was afraid they were about to die. Ron knew what he had to do.

He walked over to the combatants and gently reached his hand to touch Shego's left shoulder, hoping that he could at least talk her out of the action she was about to commit.

"Shego I don't know if this-"

He never finished.

The woman spun so fast it seemed to defy everything Ron thought he knew about physics. In doing so she slashed Ron open from his left hip to his belly button. In the same fluid movement Shego hit Ron with a vile shot to his head, sending him tumbling back into the wall with a sickening thud. He slumped to the floor unconscious.

As Shego looked on at what she had just done, she didn't realize that his distraction had given Kim just the opening that she had needed. A kick sent the knife flying from the grip of Shego and off into the distance out of the reach of both women. She followed up with a fist into the already sore jaw of Shego which sent the villainess back in Ron's direction. Then she realized that Drakken was shouting something from the other side of the room.

"The flash drive Shego!" He yelled. "Get it out of his pocket! And watch out for that bald gopher thing!"

Shego gingerly reached down into the fallen boys pocket and pulled out the small black and silver device. She also noticed that a pool of blood was beginning to form under him. Even if she did care enough to do something about it there was no time. Global Justice would be here any minute now, and she had to escape with Drakken. The pair of criminals dashed out the door leaving the two teens alone. Both were beaten and injured, though one more severely than the other.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim couldn't believe her eyes. The knife that had been intended for her had instead been used on one of her most hated foes. The person that had for the past week become a prime annoyance in her life. And now he lay only a few feet away from her in a puddle of his own blood. Blood spilt trying to… protect her? That didn't begin to make even a bit of sense to her. Her world tended to be one of black and white, a shade of gray like this just didn't register with her.

It took a few seconds for the shock to wear off her before rushing to Ron's side. She belt down and removed his shirt to examine him. But she was too panicked in this sitch. She couldn't remember the little bit of medical training she had learned from her mother. What was she supposed to do again? Apply pressure to the wound? She did just that, and was slightly sickened at the sight of the blood seeping through the fingers of her gloves. She realized at this moment that she would probably never be able to follow her mother down a path that involved surgery.

As she was desperately trying to stop the blood weeping from Ron's wound, she once more affirmed in her heart that she was a good person. She was very modest when it came to the things she did, but every now and then she just had to admit to herself that she was indeed a hero. Not many people go out of their way to help their enemies. And that was just what she was doing right here. She was doing it just because it was the right thing to do. This boy had parents. He must have had friends back in Go City. He had at least one friend in Middleton, that being Monique.

While she was pondering these things she heard voices in the distance. In a few seconds the team of Global Justice agents came entered the room, scanning the area with their weapons. When it became apparent that only the two teenagers were present they lowered their arms and began securing the area, with the exception of two individuals that approached Kim.

"Kim Possible, I presume." The man stated. "I am Commander Burns, and to my left here is Medical Officer Hullum." He looked down at Ron before turning to Hullum. "See to this wounded boy."

With a professional on the scene Kim was free of trying to prevent Ron from bleeding out. She stood to her full height while ripping off her blood-soaked gloves to shake the Global Justice Commander's hand. "It's good you got here when you did. I don't know if I could've stopped this guy from bleeding."

Burns merely nodded in understanding before going on with his work. "I take it that you failed in stopping the theft of classified material from this lab, Ms. Possible?"

That was a bit more blunt than she would have preferred, but it was right on the money. "There were some unexpected complications with this sitch and-"

He cut her off in mid-sentence. "Complications or not, perhaps you should be leaving these things to trained professionals, rather than amateurs like yourself."

The 'A word' seriously tweaked Kim. "Look, I don't know who you are, but you've obviously been getting lessons from Will Du. And it's like I tell him every time, compare my track record to GJ's, and you'll notice that I'm a heck of a lot more competent than you so called 'professionals'."

The man's demeanor did not change with that insult. "Irrelevant. You are nothing more than a vigilante to me, and it's beyond me why Dr. Director continuously allows you to go gallivanting around the world doing our job."

"Maybe it's because your entire organization relies on me to make them look good." Kim retorted.

Burns was now becoming a bit agitated. "Look Ms. Possible, the grown-up's here don't have time for your little games. Now we're going to get your partner here transferred to the nearest medical facility. Are you coming along or not?"

Kim's eyes went wide and her face became a mixture of horror and confusion. Partner? Did that man just say that Ron Stoppable was Kim Possible's partner? She couldn't begin to even explain how wrong that assessment was. Why on earth would he think that she was his partner? One look at Ron gave her the answer she sought. He wore black cargo pants, black gloves, and had been wearing a black shirt similar to hers. Someone who had never met her before would naturally assume that he was her partner, especially at the display of her trying to save his life so much.

It was at that moment that Kim's conscious caught up with her. She could have easily said that this boy was not her partner. She could have told the Global Justice agent that this was the villain she had been attempting to stop, and not Dr. Drakken as he most likely assumed. She could be rid of this nuisance forever. He could be locked up in prison for years. It could be one of her finest victories.

Then again, he had saved her. It was that simple. He could have escaped unscathed with his prize. But he didn't, for whatever reason. She considered what it would be like if their roles were reversed, if she were the one laying on the floor covered in blood. It made her shudder inside. Like it or not, Ron had done a good deed for her. And now she would do one for him as well.

"Yeah. My partner." She choked out. "Let's get going."

By now they had been able to stabilize Ron and get him prepped for the trip to the hospital. As Kim and Burns jogged to their waiting ride, he hit her with a question she had been hoping he wouldn't ask.

"It's funny Ms. Possible." He stated emotionlessly. "From all of the reports I read, you have never once worked with any allies outside of our own organization."

She made sure she wasn't looking at him when she replied. She was a terrible liar. "Oh well you know… the whole world saving business can get pretty dangerous at times. I thought I would keep him on a trial basis."

"Hmm…" Was all he said in his reply.

Kim wasn't quite sure what that meant, but at least he didn't bother asking any more prying questions. She was satisfied that her response was believable. She clambered into the back of the Global Justice truck and sat down in a seat that was right next to where Ron lay. She looked down at him innocently enough, but her mind possessed much different emotions.

"_Don't think that this is over."_


	8. Chapter 8

Authors Note: Thank you once more to all those who have read and reviewed. Your support and feedback is greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I so don't own Kim Possible. It's no big though.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rufus led what one might consider to be a charmed life. You would have to think so considering the amount of years he had spent at Ron's side, or more accurately, inside his pocket. The frequency of Ron tripping over things, including himself, was mind boggling. For Rufus to emerge unharmed throughout it all was statistically improbable. And this night was no different from the rest.

After taking a chunk of flesh out of the blue man, Rufus had crawled back into his humans pocket to take a well earned nap. It took only a few seconds for him to doze off into a deep slumber before he was suddenly and rudely awoken from a hard impact. That was when he poked his head out of Ron's cargo pants pocket to see the evil green lady taking something from him. Still half asleep, Rufus didn't think to dig into the juicy looking fingers of the woman. That was when he realized that his master was hurt.

There was little that the naked mole rat could do other than watch and wait as the red headed girl tried to save Ron. So Rufus waited, and hid in the shadows. More and more humans began to show up and started talking. Rufus knew that Ron was in trouble, and there was no way that the two of them could fight their way out of this mess even if they were at full strength. When it was apparent that the men were taking Ron away, Rufus decided it would be best to remain hidden from their sight. He would hitch a ride in one place no one would ever suspect. The pocket of the girl that his master had fought only a week earlier. And there he would remain until Ron woke up again and was safe.

And so it was that while Kim was busy arguing with Commander Burns that Rufus once more blended into the shadows as he approached her legs. The one time he had done this prior to now, he had crawled up her leg inside her pants in order to cause a distraction for Ron. But this time he would just need to carefully get a secure grip on her pants and make his way into her pocket undetected. Once there he would ride with them wherever they were headed. Rufus only hoped that she wouldn't need anything in the pocket of his choice.

XXXXXXXXXX

It took approximately a half hour to put the stitches into Ron's gash, and there were no complications. At the time however, they were more concerned about his head wound. Although there was no visible blood the hospital staff ran several tests to check for any other injuries. It was revealed that he had suffered a mild concussion when his head was sent thundering into the wall of the lab. It would take time, but he would make a full recovery.

For Kim's part, she didn't really want to be there. Why she decided to go? She didn't know, she couldn't say. Maybe she had said something wrong to the Global Justice officer, maybe she should have just turned Ron in. It would make her life a whole lot easier, that was for certain. But she had decided to volunteer Ron as her partner in the world saving business as so he wouldn't be arrested. She figured that would make them even. So there she sat, playing the part of the concerned friend. It took quite a bit of effort to look worried about the boys health when talking to the doctors and nurses. After the procedures were complete they allowed her the "privilege" of waiting in his room for him to regain consciousness.

She read a magazine during this time. It was two months old, with articles about fashion that no one would be caught dead in this time of the year. But it was either that or a magazine about house keeping. So Kim was happy that she had what she did. After around an hour Ron began to wake.

"Ugh… where am I?" He asked groggily to no one in particular.

Kim raised her head from the magazine. "A hospital."

Ron focused his eyes on Kim for a moment before speaking. "You! What are you doing here?"

"You need to do some work on how you thank people for saving your life, Ron." She said straightforward.

"Huh? Where are we?"

"I told you. A hospital, in Seattle."

Memories began to flash back in Ron's mind. "Oh yeah. What happened, the last thing I remember was Shego about to slice you up like taco ingredients. Delicious chopped tomatoes, and lettuce, onions… cheese…"

Kim rolled her eyes at his babbling. "You took a knife slash from Shego, then she knocked you unconscious."

"Yeah really what's with that?" He asked. "Shego usually doesn't use weapons. That was pretty out of character of her. You really must have made her mad."

"Pfft, yeah like that's hard to do." Kim snorted. She decided to change the subject back to the here and now, so that maybe she could get back home. It was getting late. "So how do you feel?"

Ron looked over himself and saw the bandages on his body. "I guess I feel okay considering everything."

"That's good." Kim said politely.

"Yeah, but you look tired."

Kim took out her small compact mirror and looked at herself. "Well I haven't gotten any sleep since last night." It was the best defense she could come up with.

"Aw, losing sleep over little old me?" Ron jeered.

"So not." She protested. "It's just something called professional courtesy, like what you showed me back in the park."

"You said I took advantage of you."

"You did. You knocked me out while we were listening to music. But you didn't need to call an ambulance or stay with me until they got there. Monique told me about that."

That was when Ron began to giggle a little bit. As Kim looked at him with a confused expression he waved his hand in the air trying to dismiss it as nothing.

"What is it. Spill." Kim demanded.

"Oh, nothing." He said. "It's just that… you're haven't gotten any sleep. In Seattle. Get it? Sleepless in Seattle."

Confusion was still evident on her face. Either she didn't get it, or she didn't actually want to believe he was using that movie as a pun. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing."

Kim shook her head and allowed a tiny grin to escape on her face. "You're weird."

"This coming from a cheerleader who travels the world battling super villains." He retorted.

"Touché."

The ever-sleeping form of Rufus began to stir in one of the cargo pockets in Kim's pants. The still half asleep rodent poked his tiny bald head out, either because he was too tired to remember exactly where he was, or he was just used to doing so when with his human. The sudden movement startled Kim, who looked down at her legs to see a strange creature she had never before encountered. Before she could scream though, Rufus wisely decided to jump onto the bed where Ron lay, loyally crawling up onto his masters shoulder.

Kim choked back a frightened tone in her voice. "What is that… that freaky thing!"

"What? Rufus? He's my friend and partner." Ron answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Say hi buddy."

Kim could have sworn the disgusting little thing waved at her. But she dismissed it as impossible. It was an animal. Not a sentient being like humans.

"Wait a minute…" She started, her eyes wide. "That's the thing from Sacramento! That's the thing that attacked me in the park!"

Ron glanced over at Rufus briefly before returning his attention to Kim. "Well I don't know if I would call it attacking…"

"Your gross little pink thing was in my pants!" She shrieked.

Kim didn't notice the nurse who had been walking by outside of Ron's room right as she said her last sentence. The woman looked in the room intently, a single eyebrow raised in wonder. Ron was the first to notice her.

"It's not little. Trust me." He said to the woman reassuringly.

Kim was a bit confused by that statement by Ron. What was he talking about? The hairless monster was most certainly little. And just who was Ron looking at anyway? She turned her head to look in the same direction as him, and noticed the nurse still standing there, now with a slight grin on her face. That's when Kim finally caught on.

"Oh what are you looking at! It's not what it sounds like!" She yelled. "Déjà vu…"

She noticed that Ron had started laughing hysterically at yet another instance where she had chosen the wrong words to describe the situation. Kim noticed that it only seemed to happen when it concerned Ron. It was getting quite annoying. But on the other hand, she did sort of see the humor in it. Whether or not it's true that laughter is contagious, she joined in none the less, though it was a bit more controlled than Ron. He liked to have fun, that was for sure. Rufus on the other hand just sat in silent bewilderment, not quite knowing what the two humans in the room were laughing at.

"So what kind of animal is the little abomination?" Kim asked, seemingly sincere.

"Abomination? Abomination!" Ron spat. "Okay first of all I don't even know what that means. And second, he's a naked mole rat. Perfectly normal. Well maybe not."

"Naked mole rat… I don't think I want to know. Are those things even like, legal to own?"

Ron was getting really into the conversation about his companion. "Absolutely! He was on sale at Smarty-mart, aisle 49: rodents and iPods."

Rufus chattered delightedly to them at the conversation being focused on him, and seemed to echo the number '49' in confirmation.

Kim once more glanced at Rufus perched on Ron's shoulder. "Shut up. You're disgusting."

Rufus hissed angrily at the redhead before Ron calmly began petting Rufus in order to sooth him. "Hey don't diss the Rufus. I'm lucky I was even able to get him in the first place."

Kim unwittingly kept getting drawn deeper and deeper into the conversation. "Why is that?"

"Well," Ron began. "It turns out that the Go City Smarty-mart wasn't supposed to get naked mole rats. But luckily they were there by mistake the one day I decided to go and buy some pants. Two pairs for 10, aisle 21."

"But why a… naked mole rat?" Kim asked. "Why not a regular pet like a dog, cat, bird, fish… the list goes on and on and on."

"Well my dad is allergic to animal fur. So it was either this or some kind of reptile. Fish are just so impersonal. Yeah, I can rap all day about how I met Rufus, but I don't want to waste your time."

The pair sat in a state of awkward silence for the next few moments. Neither really knew what to say next. The situation had been clarified for Ron. But Kim knew that she had to tell him the rest of what had occurred earlier in the night. She had to tell him what she had told the Global Justice officer. And of course, thank him for helping her. As she thought about the choice of words she would use to express these feelings, one of the nurses came into the room and administered some drugs to Ron. Among the cocktail of pills were powerful painkillers.

"Thank you." She blurted out.

"What?"

"I just wanted to say… thank you. For you know, saving my life and all."

This came as somewhat of a surprise for Ron. "Oh. Yeah, that. No problem."

Now Kim would defend her pride. "It's just that Shego has never used a weapon before. I just wasn't expecting anything like that. You're right, that was pretty out of character for her. Sure she has her plasma, but that stuff isn't really lethal."

"Well the important thing is that no one got hurt." Ron reassured her. "Well no one except me."

The last sentence prompted more silence. What was she supposed to say to that? He was right after all. No one had gotten hurt except for him. It's not that Kim was feeling guilty about this. She couldn't, wouldn't, feel guilty about a criminal like Ron being hurt when he was attempting to steal something. But as much as she wanted to feel this way, her mind and heart refused to be on the same page. So she once more decided to switch topics to something that would affect both of their immediate futures.

"We're not partners." She stated flatly.

"What?" He said in surprise.

"I told the GJ Commander that we were partners." She admitted.

"Oh. Why would you go and do something like that?"

"The guy assumed it. It was either that, or tell him you're an evil mercenary hired to steal top secret info from the lab. I figured it would make us even."

Ron raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know we were keeping score."

"We're not-"

"But if we were," He interrupted. "I would totally be winning!"

Kim's competitive side took control. "You would so not be winning. I can't believe this! You know you could be a little more appreciative that I didn't turn you in right there and then!"

"Check the score Kim." He said pointing at some imaginary scoreboard. Or maybe it was one only he could see. "Ron 2, Kim 1."

"Wrong Ron! One for getting my hands covered in your blood, and one for saving you from a life of imprisonment. That so makes us even."

His face was white with fear. "Blood? How much blood?" He asked.

"Enough blood to make me need to buy a new pair of mission gloves." Her tone turned to a slightly angry one. "And those things aren't cheap either."

"Oh. Well I would buy you a new pair, but there's no money from the Drakken mission. I can't believe I let him write a check!"

"Serves you right." She scolded. "Didn't you ever hear the saying 'crime doesn't pay?'"

A smile crept onto his face. "Then you've been doing the wrong crimes baby."

"I don't do crimes Ron. I'm not like you, you're not like me. That's why this whole partner thing is going to be so difficult." Then her mind began to formulate a plan about how to get out of this mess. "But it will only be for one mission, and just for show. After that, I can just say I decided to let you go. I don't want to anyone to think that you getting injured had anything to do with my decision."

"Partners…" He said dreamily.

"What?"

"I don't know if it's the drugs talking, but I'm in. Partners… doing good… teen hero. I kinda like the sound of that. It will be nice to get some payback on Drakken."

"Oh no no no no no." Kim protested. "We're not partners. We're only doing this to make the story look believable. After that we're back to being enemies."

"Heh, whatever." Ron said woozily. Kim was certain that he was really out of it by this point.

"Oh…kay." She said as she stood up. "I'm going to get going now Ron. You just… just don't commit a crime between now and when you get back to Middleton, okay?"

He didn't respond in the way she thought he would. "Hey Kim. If you wake up at noon and eat something is it breakfast or lunch?"

She stopped in the doorway. Surely that inane nonsense was just the drugs in his system, right? "Right. Good night Ron."

"Night KP"

She stood frozen for another second before shaking it off and walking away. _"KP?"_ She thought to herself. _"Where the heck did he come up with that?"_

Kim then noticed that Ron had apparently dozed off due to the effects of the drugs.

_"He's actually kind of cute when he's sleeping."_

Then she stopped her thoughts dead in their tracks as she realized what she just thought.

"_No no no. Why did I just think that? He's my enemy! And I like Josh!"_

She looked at him once more before she decided that it was doing her no good. She then left his room, closing the door behind her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim got home around four A.M. She was absolutely exhausted. It had been a long day of school, then a mission, one that almost ended up with her being seriously injured to boot. Then came the bizarre episode when Ron had stopped Shego from gutting her like a fish. All in all, it had been a rather strange night. And she wasn't even thinking about her relationship with Josh, or lack thereof.

Luckily though she had been able to secure a relatively comfortable flight back to Middleton. Just one of the many benefits of being able to call in favors, as well as having a 10 year old super genius as a friend and partner in her world saving. If not for that, she would have had two options. Either stay in Seattle for the night, most likely in some sleazy motel, or try to hitch a ride on some hot crowded cargo plane. So she was very happy about not having to do either of those options.

She walked through her house en route to her attic room, the epitome of privacy. There she would be able to finally rest after being awake nearly 24 hours. She was happy that no one in her home had waited up for her to get home. She didn't like to imagine that other people would worry over her like that. But then again, parents will be parents. As she made her way to the stairs leading to her room, she unexpectedly bumped into her mother who was just exiting the washroom.

The older woman jumped back in surprise, then smiled at her daughter. "Kimmie, what have your father and I told you about being stealthy in the middle of the night?"

Kim suppressed a smile of her own. It was something that the two had joked about in the past when she came home late on missions. "Sorry mom, I'll be sure to make more noise when I come home in the middle of the night."

Anne's tone suddenly turned serious. "And just where were you anyway young lady? It's past four in the morning."

"Ugh. Don't ask." Kim groaned.

"Well now I really want to know."

"Alright." Kim conceded. "But let's go somewhere where we can sit down… and is better lit."

The two women made their way down to the kitchen to sit at the table. Upon turning on the lights Mrs. Possible noticed the faded signs of blood on Kim's hands and little bits still on her face. Despite her best efforts the reddish tint still remained on her skin, as it had soaked through her gloves and splattered on her exposed skin.

"Kim!" Anne asked, aghast. "Blood? Is that your blood? Are you hurt?"

"No mom-"

"Because I can take you down to the hospital right now. I can use my special clearance to get you into the ICU in a few seconds."

"No really it's-"

But it was no use. Mrs. Dr. Possible had entered into an 'overprotective mother mode' at the moment, and was hard pressed to listen to her daughters protests. When she did calm down enough for Kim to say that it wasn't her own blood, the original conversation quickly got back on track.

Kim went on to explain the events that had taken place over the past day. How she had gone out planning on capturing the new villain in her life, all the way up to the point where he had actually rescued her from harms way. Though it didn't take very long to tell, it seemed to have a powerful effect on her mother.

"So this Shego witch actually tried to stab you?" She asked in horror.

Kim merely nodded her head.

"And as for that other boy, he got what he had coming to him." Anne said reassuringly.

Kim nodded again, but this time a bit less convincingly. Sure he may have been evil. But did that mean he deserved to get hurt like that, or maybe even die? She didn't think so. As for her mother, Kim was sure that she was just a bit angry and shocked at the whole situation, and wasn't thinking very clearly. Doctors such as herself would never wish harm upon another human being. It was their duty to help others, it was in the Hippocratic Oath. So Kim decided to leave that conversation for a future date, when her mother was a bit more calm.

"But Kim, the important thing is that you're okay. Sometimes I really wonder if it's a good idea for you to be going on these missions. They just seem so dangerous."

Kim shook her head this time, unintentionally staying with the head movement theme.

"I just can't do that mom. This is who I am. Imagine all the other people that could have been hurt or killed if I didn't stop the freaks who want to take over the world."

Anne understood this of course. She could easily see the benefits of Kim's hero work from an objective point of view. But from a motherly point of view, it was nothing but her baby being in danger. No matter how old Kim got, or how embarrassing it was when Anne said it out loud, Kim would always be her baby.

Not wanting to start an argument based on her two conflicting opinions, Anne took the diplomatic route.

"I suppose we both have good points about the topic. And it is getting pretty late. We should both get some sleep."

"Definitely." Kim agreed, thankful it was a Friday, technically Saturday now. The thought of having to be at school in a few short hours frightened her. She decided she would sleep late today.

The two women exchanged good nights, and headed off toward their respective rooms.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim was unaccustomed to waking up this late. She was both thankful, yet a bit sad that she didn't set her alarm. The clock's bright red numbers showed that it was a little past noon. She didn't really want to think about that at the moment. If she went back to sleep it would go away. Then again, she didn't really want to sleep any later than she already did. She hesitantly got out of bed, ready for a day of rest, relaxation, and most importantly, no missions. Or at least that's what she thought.

As soon as she had finished showering and putting on clean clothes, her phone began to ring. Happy that it wasn't her kimmunicator, she grabbed it and saw the familiar name and number of her best friend Monique.

"What's up Monique?" She answered cheerfully.

"Where were you last night?" Monique wondered.

Kim sighed. "Seattle. Don't ask."

"Okay girl, now you have to tell."

Hadn't she had a conversation just like this only a few hours earlier? The whole Déjà vu thing was starting to irritate Kim.

"Well let's just put it like this." Kim began. "The whole sitch got a little out of control, Ron's in a hospital in Seattle, and I got home late last night."

"Wait wait wait," Monique said hastily. "Ron's in the hospital? What did you do to him!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"Don't lie to me Kim. I've seen all those nasty looks you've given him!"

"Really I didn't do anything." Kim tried to reassure her. "It was all Shego."

"Why was Shego there?" Monique asked.

"Like I said, the whole mission got pretty weird."

There was a brief pause as neither really knew what to say next. It was finally Monique who broke the silence. "Well, what are we waiting for. Let's go."

"Go where?" Kim wondered.

"To Seattle. To see Ron."

That surprised Kim to say the least. "What? Why?"

"He may not be your friend, but he is mine." Monique stated firmly.

"And you expect me to tag along to see someone I hate?"

"Well you're the only one who can get a flight out to Seattle on such short notice."

Kim faced a conundrum. She had her best friend's concerns to worry about. Then again, she really didn't want to abuse the whole trust factor of not only going out on missions, but her ability to get rides as well. It wouldn't sit well with her transportation if they knew they were just transporting a couple of teenage girls to see one of their friends, or enemies in Kim's case. But in the end, Kim was a good friend.

"Alright Monique…" She sighed. "We can go. But there's no way I'm taking two flights in one day again. That means we're staying overnight in a hotel. I'm sure Wade can hook us up with something nice."

Monique was elated with her friend's decision. "Sweet! I'll go back a few things and be over to your house in around a half hour. By the way, I think you're forgetting one important thing."

"What's that?"

"Shopping! Seattle is a whole new market."

That, if nothing else, could always put a smile on Kim Possible's face.


	9. Chapter 9

Authors Note: Thanks again to those who like this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Well, at least by Seattle standards. Some people out there actually considered the gloomy gray skies to be good weather. Ron just happened to be one of those people. The fact of the matter was that he liked pretty much any kind of weather. He wasn't picky. Thunderstorms were cool, but so were sunny cloudless days. He was very adaptable, it was something that was just part of who he was. Life was too short to stress about such trivial things.

But on this particular afternoon Ron was bored. And a bored Ron was not a good thing for anyone around him. If he wasn't being entertained, he would need to find a form of entertainment. Even if that meant creating his own. Lucky for him, and unlucky for others, he had his partner in crime at hand. The hospital staff was still clueless about his hairless rodent friend who shared the room. With the swift and silent Rufus by his side, Ron could wreak all kinds of fun havoc on the denizens of the hospital. It wouldn't be anything dangerous or cruel; it would be perfectly innocent fun. After all, he was a 16 year old male.

Knowing that people had been terrified of Rufus in the past, Ron figured that would be a good place to start. It was one thing if a person walking through the hospital happened to come across a rat. Some things like that could just not be prevented, no matter how sanitary and clean a building of that size was. It would be quite another thing, however, if someone were to see a bald rodent like Rufus scuttling around in the halls. It would surely trigger some kind of panic. Ron knew he had a plan.

"Okay Rufus. Time to begin 'Operation Mole Rat Mayhem'." He told his friend.

The hairless rodent snapped to attention, ready and waiting to move out.

"Your orders are… go around and let yourself be seen by people. But only for a split second each time. Try chewing on anything you can get your hands on. Hands, paws? It would be paws, right?" For some reason, he expected an answer from Rufus. And he didn't disappoint.

After receiving a response from Rufus, Ron continued with his orders. "Anyway, just go scare the crap out of some people. But make sure to stay close to this room so I can hear peoples reactions."

When Ron was finished, Rufus jumped down from the hospital bed and made his way for the door. This would be a most difficult task for him. This was worse than broad daylight. The halls of the hospital were very well lit and maintained. There would not be a whole lot of hiding places if he were to come across trouble. His only options would be to go from one room to another, which would probably be occupied by people. Then again, his mission was to be seen. While Rufus didn't exactly understand why doing what he was about to do would bring his master so much joy, he didn't really care either. Ron was hurt and if doing this could make him a little better, than he would do it.

XXXXXXXXXX

For nurse Jenny Reed today was a typical day. Nothing out of the ordinary had occurred, unlike the prior night. Last night she had seen the world famous Kim Possible stop by with her partner who had apparently been injured while on a mission. The boy was still in their care, and she was determined to treat a fine young person like that the best she could. Anyone who risked their lives protecting humanity deserved every bit of effort and support she could muster. So she decided that she would go pay him a visit to see if he needed anything. Normally she wouldn't go visit her patients on her break, but she wanted to go the extra mile for a hero.

While en route to Ron's room she thought she saw something, but kept walking. When she looked back to the floor it was gone. The nurse dismissed it was her mind playing tricks on her. It had been a long shift. Still though, she felt a bit uneasy. Something just wasn't right about the situation. Her right foot seemed to feel heavier than her left. She looked down at her shoe. What she saw shocked her to say the least.

There was a small rodent riding her shoe. It looked up at her and almost seemed to be waving at her with its tiny paw. Her eyes widened in horror as she screamed.

"Rat!" She screamed. "There's a rat on my shoe!"

Jenny began kicking her leg violently to shake the thing off of her shoe. But by then it was too late and Rufus was already gone. He had seemingly vanished without a trace. While kicking, she lost her balance and collapsed backwards into a doctor who had stopped nearby her once the screaming had begun. They both collapsed in a heap in the hall much to the confusion of onlookers. Rufus then scampered over on top of their pair and did what they could only later describe as a 'victory dance' on the doctor's stomach. The sight of this made him scream out as well. Knowing that he had caused enough mischief here, Rufus decided to run off to another room to wreak more havoc.

The tiny naked mole rat entered the first room on his right, which was only two doors down from Ron's room. Inside was a man in his mid 30's with a broken leg, his cast elevated above his bed. Showing such skill and feats of athleticism not commonly seen in any kind of rodent, Rufus jumped and gained purchase of the bed sheets hanging over the side. He was able to crawl up using his claws and eventually made it to the top of the bed. Seeing that there was a nice hard surface for him to stand on, Rufus decided to crawl on top of the large cast and looked directly into the eyes of the man.

Once more Rufus caused eyes to widen and a scream to form on the lips of the man. He then took his hand attempted to swat Rufus off of the cast. The rodent was able to evade the blow, and stuck his tongue out at the man who was calling out for someone to help him. This time he clenched his hand into a fist and brought it down to slam into the bald rats head. At the last minute Rufus was able to jump off of the cast and back onto the floor and out of the room. Luckily for the man in the cast, his reflexes were not affected by his broken leg. Right as his fist was about to connect with the cast he was able to stop the swing. Although the cast was very hard, he didn't exactly like the idea of slamming his fist full force into his injured leg.

By the time Rufus got back into the hall, a rather tall and angry looking janitor had made his way onto the scene carrying a large broom. Rufus squeaked in fear as the large janitor took a swing at him. He fell and rolled backwards as he was barely able to avoid certain pain at the hands of the yellow broom. Mere seconds after getting back onto his feet Rufus was once more assaulted by the broom. This time the tool made contact and was able to knock him a few feet down the hall, right against the foot of Nurse Reed who was standing by watching the whole episode unfold. She let out another shrill scream as Rufus made contact once more with the very same shoe he had jumped on before.

She attempted to kick the rat away as he recovered himself from the forceful swipe from the broom. Rufus was in excellent shape and was able to avoid the blow this time, and quickly ran away from the one-sided melee. Rufus was no longer trying to make noise or cause trouble. He was now trying to save his little naked life. Making his way into a waiting room he climbed up a padded chair and went over to a table to see if he could get a better view of the situation. Even the little mole rat knew that having the high ground was an important strategy when it came to these life or death situations.

What he didn't expect was another violent swing from the broom-wielding janitor, once more missing Rufus, but not the lamp sitting upon the table. It was knocked to the floor with the glass base shattering as Rufus once more was forced on the run. This time he ran down the hall into what looked to be a closet. There were plenty of things stored in there which he could hide in and under. He just hoped it would be enough so that he could get back to his owner. Right now, that was all he really wanted.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron couldn't stop laughing. The terrified screams of the people outside were utterly hilarious to him. And he wasn't being mean either. He knew Rufus wasn't hurting them in any way, just causing a little bit of mischief. When he saw people rushing to the scene outside of his room, he couldn't help but smile a bit. This was going on because of him. He saw Rufus running for his life down the hall, being chased by a large and enraged janitor wielding a broom. Ron knew that the man would never stand a chance of hurting Rufus, which made the situation all the more funny.

He had to wipe away a tear from his eye due to his laughter. For him this was more entertaining than what was on TV at the moment. He thought it was awesome that even when he was incapacitated, he could still have fun the way only he knew how.

"Sounds like someone's having fun." A voice said to him from the doorway.

Ron turned his head to see the form of Monique standing there, with Kim trailing behind her.

Ron looked genuinely surprised. "Monique! What are you doing here?"

"When I heard you got put in the hospital protecting Kim, I knew I just had to come and see you."

"He was not protecting me." Kim protested.

"Taking a knife slash on your behalf, I would call that protecting you. And you see, I told you he was chivalrous." Monique countered.

"Whatever." Kim grumbled.

"You didn't happen to sneak in any food for me did you?" Ron asked. "The stuff in here tastes worse than mystery meat."

"Sorry Ron, they probably wouldn't let you eat that stuff even if I did."

"Meh, I guess you're right."

Ron once more looked out the door, a smile soon forming on his face as he did so.

"What are you looking at Ron?"

"Oh, just for Rufus."

"Why would he be out there?"

"No reason." Ron lied with the same smile on his face.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yup!" By now the grin on his face was massive.

"Okay, I believe you." Monique lied back. "I'm going to go use the washroom. Kim will keep you company."

"She'll do what?" He asked.

"I'll do what?" Kim asked.

"You heard me." Monique smiled. "Now play nice you two. I'll be back."

Monique walked out of Ron's room and left the two in a bit of uncomfortable silence. It seemed to be like that for them a lot. The second time in two days in fact. Kim was the first to break the silence.

"So…"

"So…" Ron answered.

A few seconds passed before Kim continued the conversation.

"So why did you save me?" She asked. "I mean, you're one of them. You're one of the bad guys. Wouldn't having me out of the picture be a good thing for you?"

"I'm not a villain."

"Yeah right. From what I've seen you're a pretty evil person. Well except for the whole saving my life thing. Other than that, you're just like Drakken or Shego."

"I'm not a bad guy. Sometimes I just do bad things for bad people. I don't understand how that makes me evil."

Kim couldn't believe her ears. "Wait wait, after just saying all that, you don't understand how that makes you evil?"

"No."

"What if one of the 'real' villains were to get their hands on something dangerous. Something that could be used to harm a lot of innocent people out there. Haven't you ever thought of that?"

"Well then, it's a good thing that there are teen heroes like you out there to stop them. See, it's the circle of life. I get paid, and you get to be all famous and stuff."

"I don't do this for the fame. I do it because its right."

"To each his own. Or her own. Whatever."

"You just don't get it do you Ron?" She was quite frustrated by now. "Your actions could hurt other people. You help people harm other people. That doesn't make you any better than them."

"Well when you put it like that…"

"What? Is it finally making sense to you? All the times you have helped villains just helped them hurt our society even more."

"Okay okay! I get it!" Ron conceded.

"Does this mean you're going to stop after our little partners display?" She asked.

"Fine! I'll stop! If you're going to keep nagging me about it-"

"I am so not nagging you!" She objected. "Nagging makes us sound like a married couple."

"Sick and wrong." Ron spat.

"Nice to see we can agree on something." Kim weakly smiled. "Anyway, I'm going to get you transferred back to Middleton."

"Really? Why?"

"I don't know." She admitted. "It just seemed like the right thing to do. Remember, I do good things for people?"

"Oh sure rub that in my face again." Ron smiled back. "But just remember, soon I'm going to be helping you out on a mission!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

"And it's going to be so much fun!"

The two continued going back and forth with light hearted insults until Monique got back. The trio spent a little while together before Kim finally dragged Monique out to go shopping like she had said they would. As night fell upon the hospital and Seattle, Ron was happy knowing that soon he would be back home.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim and Monique were heading out of the hospital, and planning on going to the mall. They would be taking their rental car there, as they had completed drivers ed earlier in the year. Seattle was a beautiful city, despite it being so gloomy all the time. It was definitely warmer than Middleton though, that was for sure. That was one positive about it.

As they stepped into the car, Kim couldn't help but notice that Monique was looking at her in a funny way. This prompted Kim to ask why.

"What?" Kim asked.

"Oh nothing." Monique smiled.

"No seriously. What's with the grin?"

"I think you care about him."

"Care about who?"

"Ron of course."

"Eww. What would make you think that?"

"You seem very concerned about his life."

"I do not!"

"Then why are you all 'Oh Ron, why are you a villain? Why can't we just be friends?'."

"Hey no one said anything about friends."

"Soon it will be 'Ron, if it weren't for you being evil we could be lovers!'."

That opened Kim's eyes wide as she stared in Monique's direction.

"Monique!" She shrieked as she slapped her friend on the arm.

This caused Monique to swerve a little as she drove to the nearest mall.

"Whoa whoa Kim I was just kidding. An never ever hit the woman who's driving."

"My bad Mon." Kim sighed. "It's just that the last comment was kinda uncalled for."

"You have to admit though, he wouldn't be that bad to date."

"So would."

"Why?"

"Tell me why he wouldn't be a bad boyfriend."

"Okay." Monique stated. "He's nice, funny, kinda good looking, no Josh that's for sure."

"For sure."

"What else? He's caring, chivalrous as we have already found out, likes the GWA, but that's just my personal preference."

"Well then maybe you should go out with him." Kim grumbled.

"Can't. I'm going out with Chris, remember?"

Kim remembered that Monique did indeed already have a boyfriend.

"But are you saying you would if you didn't have Chris?"

"Well, let's just say I would consider it. Okay your turn."

"What do you mean my turn?"

"Why don't you like him?"

"Well there's the fact that he's my enemy for starters. He works for people who do evil."

"Professional reasons aside, what's not to like?"

"Well…" Kim struggled.

"Hah I knew it. If it weren't for the fact that you two are enemies, he could be a friend of yours."

"I don't know…"

"And besides," Monique said as she pulled into the parking lot of the mall. "He said he would stop doing those missions, remember?"

"I know…"

"And besides, you could use a sidekick. What if you ever get in trouble?"

"So not going to happen Monique. I'm Kim Possible, I can do anything, remember?"

"That arrogance of yours is going to get you hurt someday."

"That's another thing!" Kim exclaimed. "He's just so arrogant. I just want to wipe that goofy grin off his face."

"I think that grin is kinda cute." Monique admitted.

"You would."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I just mean you can't seem to find a single bad thing to say about Ron."

"And you can't seem to find a single good thing about him."

"So where does that leave us?" Kim asked.

"With a boy who just needs a little love and care."

"Good luck getting me to go with that. Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable dating? I can't think of a thing as bizarre as that."

"Okay well we're here. Now then, let's see what this Club Banana has to offer."

"I'm loving the sound of that Monique." Kim said before she and Monique exited from the car and began walking towards the mall enterence.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Who does she think she is anyway Rufus?" Ron asked his little companion.

The naked mole rat just began to chitter away at Ron's question. He seemed to be the only one who could understand Rufus. Ron didn't think he was weird at all for being able to understand naked mole rat speak. He was weird in many ways, but that was not one of them. Okay maybe it was, he admitted to himself.

"I mean, guilting me into stopping doing my missions? Maybe I should guilt her into stopping her missions! Let's see how she likes it!"

Rufus agreed wholeheartedly, despite the fact that his words were not what one would call anything close to English.

"Seriously though. She could easily get someone else hurt doing what she does. She may not work for villains, but she is always fighting against henchmen. Those guys probably don't have good health insurance working for Drakken either. And she goes around punching and kicking them like it's nothing."

Rufus smiled while nodding his head up and down furiously.

"And then there's Shego. Well okay, I really don't care so much about Shego anymore. I still can't believe she's the reason I'm in here. I always thought she was kind of cool. But not anymore. What a little witch."

This time the naked mole rat did not respond. He was in fact hiding under Ron's sheets. Ron looked around a little bit before he discovered his little buddy's location. He wondered why he decided to hide. The answer soon hit him.

"Who are you talking to?" Nurse Reed said as she entered Ron's room.

"Who me?" Ron asked sheepishly. "Oh no one. Just talking to myself. Kinda lonely and all."

"You just had visitors in here twenty minutes ago."

"I get lonely easily okay? Who are you to judge me. I'm a teen hero remember?"

Ron decided that as long as Kim was saying that he was her partner, he was going to milk it for all it was worth. Imagine the possibilities. He could get so much free stuff and special treatment for saying he was Kim Possible's sidekick. Especially since he was injured while valiantly protecting her. The media would eat that up. He could picture it now: "Ron Stoppable hospitalized while protecting girl". It would be so good once the newspapers in Middleton got a hold of this story.

"Oh I know that Mr. Stoppable. I'm sorry to have intruded on your… conversation."

"No worries Nurse Reed. I'm all about forgiveness and all that good stuff."

"Not only are you brave, but your so generous as well. Thank you Mr. Stoppable."

"So what's up?"

"Well I just wanted to inform you that we're going to be taking you to the airport on our helicopter to get you transferred to the hospital in Middleton in about a half hour."

"Oh really? Sweet."

"I thought you would like that."

"Well thanks for telling me. I can't wait to get back home."

"My pleasure Mr. Stoppable. You take care of yourself. Kim Possible needs all the help she can get."

A grin spread on Ron's face as the nurse left the room. He couldn't wait to get back to Middleton. So much wonder and opportunities awaited him there. It would be a welcome homecoming, being hailed as a hero.


	10. Chapter 10

Authors Note: Thanks again to everyone who has read and reviewed, your feedback means a lot to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

Death.

The clean sterile stench of death.

Ron had rarely smelled it before. It was a smell unique to hospitals. This was in fact only the second time he had ever been in a hospital, excluding when he was born of course. The first time was only a couple days ago when Kim and Global Justice had brought him in. Now he was back in Middleton though, thanks to her. That reminded him. Would he thank her for this kind gesture? Thinking about the current relationship full of animosity and hatred, it didn't seem like the right thing to do. But on the other hand, she really didn't need to help him.

He was happy Rufus was still with him. His little buddy always kept him company, and today was no exception. He stood on Ron's bed making weird noises trying to entertain his master. It didn't seem to be working that well though, as Ron looked dismally out the window. Today he was feeling kind of depressed. He thought it had something to do with the fact that he had agreed to give up on doing his missions for villains. That meant that no more big paychecks would be coming in for him. The last one he received was from Dementor for the chemical bonding agent. His previous job had borne no fruit though, due to Drakken being a cheapskate. He would have to get revenge.

Maybe this would be his opportunity though. He had a one time shot as Kim's partner coming up in the near future, probably as soon as he healed from his wound. Maybe he would get his opportunity against Drakken. That would be the ultimate revenge as far as he was concerned.

Ron looked out the window once more. It was a sunny and cool March afternoon. Not that he would get to enjoy it much. He was cooped up inside in this hospital room, at least for today. The wound on his stomach was healing nicely, but he didn't know much about his concussion. He would need to speak to some sort of head doctor about that.

Little did he know, that was exactly what he was about to do.

A tall red-haired woman entered his room carrying not only a clipboard, but also a frown on her face. It didn't seem to fit her though. It almost seemed unnatural for this woman to be frowning, as if a cheery demeanor was what the norm was for her. She looked over Ron for a few seconds before looking back to her clipboard.

"Mr. Stoppable?" She said flatly.

"Yes?" Ron answered nervously.

"My name is Dr. Possible."

The name Possible echoed in his ears. He didn't know if it was because of his concussion, or if he was just shocked by this turn of events.

"Heh you know that's funny," Ron began. "Because I know this girl whose last name is Possible too. I didn't think it was that common of a last name…" He trailed off.

Dr. Possible just looked at him with a look on her face which just seemed to say "I pity you".

"Wait a minute, are you related to Kim?"

"Yes, I'm her mother."

"Oh."

Dr. Possible looked over his vitals for a moment before she realized that Ron was finishing his food.

"And blarg, you call this food?" Ron griped. "It tastes like rancid cheese on a hot plate."

"Oh I'm sorry that our food can't be more accommodating to thieves such as yourself, Ronald." Dr. Possible said sternly.

"What?"

"I know that you're the new villain in Kim's life, the one she keeps talking about. Also the one who saved her life a few days ago."

"Well, you're right about the saving part." Ron said. "But I was never a villain. I'm not a bad guy, I just-"

"Get paid to do bad things." She cut him off. "Yeah, I know. I heard all about your convenient excuse for it all from my daughter."

"Besides, I'm out of the whole mercenary gig now. Not only that, but your daughter turned me straight after the night we spent together in Seattle."

"I see. Wait, what!?" Dr. Possible shrieked.

"Huh? Oh no no no I didn't mean it like that. You see I was just laying in bed, then she decided to stop by and see me. When it was all said and done, we were officially together."

Dr. Possible continued to look at Ron with a mix of shock and horror. What was he trying to say? She hoped she was just misinterpreting him. Because by the way he put it, it sounded as though the two had had sex. That would definitely be something she would not approve of. This boy was a bad seed, no doubt. She couldn't imagine her daughter being with someone of his ilk.

"Err… what I'm trying to say is that now we're partners in the whole teen world saving business. I guess I just have a way with words."

"Yes you do Ronald. Let's just hope you don't let her father hear you talking like that." She smiled.

"Heh, no worries here. After I'm done with our little one shot mission, I don't intend to get involved with her anymore."

"Well, it is good to know that you're not 'evil' anymore."

"I was never-"

"Haven't we been over this already?"

"Yes."

"I still think it's just a convenient excuse."

Ron only grumbled a non distinct reply to Kim's mother's words. Who was she to tell him what he was anyway? No one, that's who. He was most certainly not evil. When it came right down to it, he was one of the nicest and most caring individuals he could imagine. Sure he may have worked for some bad people, but that was not who he was at all.

"So um, Dr. Possible. Not to sound rude, but why exactly are you here? I'm sure this has more to do with me and Kim."

"You're absolutely right Ronald. I'm here because the results of your tests look very good. I just decided to come up here in person so I could meet the boy who has been giving my daughter so much grief over the past few weeks."

"Grief? What do you mean?"

"Do you realize that she has missed two dates with a boy she really likes because she has been out on missions trying to stop you?"

"I…"

"Have you ever liked someone Ronald? I mean, like-liked them?"

"Um…"

"Because let me tell you something, it is not easy to get those feelings out in the open. And now that she finally has done that, you're going along and ruining her chances with a very nice and polite boy."

"No offense, but that was her choice to blow off her date to go after me."

"Well if she wasn't going to stop you, then who else would?"

"No one?"

"Ha ha very funny." She said sarcastically.

It was at this point that she noticed a small, pink, furless rodent squawking heatedly on the top of Ron's bed. It was something that she had never seen before in her life. It almost seemed as if it was saying words, but she just dismissed it as impossible. It was a rodent after all. It couldn't talk.

"And just what the heck is that thing?"

"Oh Rufus?" Ron asked. "He's just my buddy. I don't go anywhere without him. In fact, he's the whole reason I was able to get away from Kim that one time…"

Ron immediately shut up as he noticed Dr. Possible's eyes boring into him. Clearly it was not a good thing to mention his missions with Kim around her.

"I mean, uh, he just goes with me everywhere. Yup. That's all. Nothing about Kim. Or Sacramento." He smiled nervously.

"Well then, as I was saying," She continued. "You are set to be released today. Your head looks as good as it's going to get after that concussion you sustained, and the wound on your abdomen is healing nicely. You are going to need to come back in a couple of weeks to get the stitches removed however."

"Boo yah! So I get to go home today?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Sweet. Nothing but Zombie Mayhem and plenty of relaxing for the next few days until I go back to school."

Dr. Possible couldn't help but smile at his youthful enthusiasm. Apparently it took very little to make him happy, which was something refreshing to see in today's teens. If a little bit of relaxation and video games was all it took to put a smile on his face, maybe he wasn't such a bad kid after all. Maybe, just maybe, Kim would help turn him around. After all, she was all about saving people, right? Well here was a boy in desperate need of it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ah Middleton High School. It felt good to be back. After going through what Ron did, he needed to come back. Even though it was school, it was a routine. Too much free time on a person's hands could lead to trouble. The way Ron figured it, he had way too much free time on his hands when he sent Rufus off to terrorize the hospital workers back in Seattle. So now he was back home, and he was ready to get back into a learning mode. Well, at least as much as someone like Ron could do.

But there had also been a disappointing twist. There had been no heroes return for him. In fact, the local media had barely said a thing about him and his efforts to save the great Kim Possible. That really made him angry. Sure he didn't do it for the fame, he did it because it had been the right thing to do. But to really not be acknowledged for his sacrifice was something that still tweaked him.

He had also been put in an awkward situation. Because she was his "partner", Kim would be assisting Ron through school. It would be interesting to see just how far she would go with it. He wondered if she would carry his books for him from class to class. After all, he shouldn't be putting too much stress on that injured abdomen of his. He started to giggle just at the very thought of it all. Kim Possible, becoming the helping hand for Ron Stoppable. It was too great to ignore.

Ron moved slowly toward the halls before he realized that she was nearby. Despite the fact that he couldn't see her behind him, he felt the holes she was drilling into the back of his head with her gaze.

"Ron."

Ron turned around to see an annoyed Kim standing before him. He tried desperately to wipe the goofy grin off of his face, but to no avail. It was plastered on his face for the entire world to see, including Kim.

"What are you smiling about?" She asked him.

"Oh nothing."

"Come on. Tell me."

"Just the little predicament we're in. Right, partner?"

"Look, this whole sitch is disgusting as far as I'm concerned. The very fact that I have to act like your friend for the next few weeks is absolutely horrible."

"Next few weeks? Oh I don't think so Kim. How about, for the rest of the school year?"

"What!" Kim gasped.

"Think about it Kim. You can't just stop being my "friend" once we're done with the mission. What will that look like to people?"

"It will look like you were a giant jerk, which by the way, you are."

"Nope. We have to wait a long time to make it look like we grew apart. That's just the way it works."

Kim was now grinding her teeth at the thought of all this. The fact that she would have to pretend to be Ron's friend for an extended period of time really ate away at her.

So focused on Ron was she, that she didn't even hear Mr. Barkin approach from behind.

"Ah Possible, Stoppable." He said. "Now here are a pair of fine young citizens."

"Excuse me?" Kim said.

"I read all about Stoppable's sacrifice for you in the paper today. Very noble. Reminds me of some of my own actions back in the war…"

"Oh yeah Mr. B…" Kim said. "It was very… noble." She managed to choke out.

"Now then, the reason I came to talk to you two was because there is going to be a project in your history class coming up. And seeing how you're partners in real life, I thought it would be appropriate to pair you two up for this project."

"Oh no Mr. B., you didn't have to-" Kim said before being cut off.

"Nonsense! I figure that since the two of you work very well out there in the field, you should have no problem clicking in the classroom."

"No problems here Mr. Barkin!" Ron said happily.

Kim couldn't believe it. Would it ever end? Would she ever be able to get away from Ron? How disgusting was it that now they would have to spend time outside of school with each other on this history project?

"Now then, speaking of history class, shouldn't you two be running along now?" Barkin said. "I wouldn't want my two new favorite students to get detention, now would I?"

"Um, maybe?" Ron asked.

"It was rhetorical, Stoppable."

"Oh. Gotcha."

"But now that I think about it, you did miss a lot of class, didn't you?"

"Well, maybe."

"Indeed you did. I'll have your stack of make-up work ready for you after class."

With that, Mr. Barkin strode down the hall with a sense of purpose toward Kim and Ron's next class. That left a dejected looking Ron and Kim standing alone in the hall. Each had a different reason to feel that way.

"Aw man. This tanks." Ron griped.

Kim couldn't help but giggle a bit at Ron's words.

"Serves you right Ron." She said. "It's about time something bad happened to you rather than me."

"So wait, you want bad stuff to happen to me?" Ron asked. "Man, some teen hero you are, wishing harm upon others."

"I am so not wishing harm on you!" Kim bit back.

"Sounded like it."

"It just came out wrong that's all. Shut up." She said playfully.

"Meh, whatever."

"Now let's go Ron, or else we're going to be late for class. See, I'm looking out for you."

"Are you going to carry my books?"

"Heck no. You're healthy enough to do it yourself."

"Fine fine. I guess I am. Partner."

"Stop calling me partner!"

With that, Kim and Ron then left to go to history class. Little did they realize that a pair of jealous blue eyes was watching them the whole way. A frown formed on the boys face as the two went out of view, leaving only him and his thoughts.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim's house. It seemed like such a horrid place to be. To be inside the home of your arch foe was not something that Ron had ever expected to happen. It wasn't a bad house by any means, in fact it was very nice. But to be there right here at this moment just seemed so sick and wrong to him.

It had been a few days since they had been paired up to do a project for Mr. Barkin's history class. Ron was feeling very good, his wound was healing nicely. Pretty soon he would be ready to go on that mission with Kim. And then it would be over. He would never have to do anything with her again, except act like he liked her. But that wasn't a very hard thing to do, in fact he did it anyway. It really got under her skin the way he was able to act like there was nothing wrong between the two of them.

Ron was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Kim to unpack her books. The project would be on World War Two, more specifically D-Day. Ron didn't know a thing about it, and was going to be relying heavily on Kim to do the grunt work of the project. But if there was anything Kim could do, and she could do anything, it was do well in school. She had been a straight A student all of her life. A project like this would truly be "no big" for her.

He looked around the kitchen and felt his stomach begin to rumble. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch, and had skipped breakfast. Considering how much Ron ate, he was amazed with himself that he so rarely ate breakfast. Only really on weekends did he do so, because he had time to prepare culinary creations for himself and Rufus.

"Kim…" He whined.

"What is it Ron?" She said.

"I'm hungry."

"Oh you've got to be kidding me. Now you expect me to feed you too?"

"Saved your life!" Ron countered.

"I so could have taken Shego."

"That's not what your fear-filled eyes said."

"Shut up. My eyes were not fear-filled."

"Can we go to Bueno Nacho?"

"No Ron, we're about to get started on the history project."

"But Kim…"

"No."

"Aw come on. Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"

"One more please and I'm going to give you a whole new injury to worry about."

"Fine be that way." Ron pouted.

Kim finished getting her materials together and laid them out on the table. There was an assortment of books including her text book and ones she had gotten from the local library. They were all about World War Two, and were sure to contain extensive information about D-Day.

"Okay Ron." Kim began. "Let's start this out simple. What do you know about D-Day?"

"Uh…"

"It's only one of the most historic days ever."

"Yeah about that. When Mr. B. was teaching that, I was busy drawing this."

Ron showed Kim a crude doodle he had drawn of himself, complete with body armor and a shotgun. Around him is what appeared to be the bodies of slain zombies.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Kim told him.

"Afraid not KP."

"And just what the heck is that anyway? I heard you call me that in the hospital the other day."

"It's short for Kim Possible. Since I didn't know what to call you, I thought this had a nice ring to it."

Kim hated to admit it, but she rather liked the nickname KP. It did have a nice ring to it, though she refused to tell Ron that he had done something good.

"Moving on…" She said as she began to write.

"What are you doing?"

"Um, writing?"

"Yeah but why are you doing it in cursive?"

"Because that's how I write."

"But Kim, cursive handwriting is so worthless. I haven't done it since like sixth grade. They spent so many years drilling it into us, and for what? No one even uses it. In fact most writing these days is done on a computer."

"Did I ever tell you how horrendously obnoxious you are Ron?"

Rufus jumped out of Ron's pocket and squawked in protest. He was not in the mood to have his human be insulted.

"Oh great, you brought your naked mouse thing."

"Naked Mole Rat."

"Whatever."

"And I bring Rufus with me wherever I go for your information."

"Great to know. Now can we please get back to work?"

"Sure."

Kim began reading over some notes that she had taken earlier in the day from Barkin's class. She then switched her view to an open book she had right beside her notebook.

"Okay. So D-Day was the largest amphibious invasion in human history." She began before Ron cut her off.

"Why did you say human history?"

"Because that's what it is. Human history."

"Why not just say history? It's not as if it's the largest amphibious invasion in alien history, or dog history, or dung beetle history."

Kim just glared at him for a moment before she started smiling.

"Dung beetle history?" She asked him.

"Yup. Those things have a rich history you know."

"I'm sure you would know."

"Hey is that a shot at me? Are you saying I smell?"

"Not at all. I'm just saying you have a fascination with weird animals, so you would probably know something about dung beetles."

"Well for your information I don't."

"Whatever. Getting back to D-Day…"

The two continued to work on the project until the phone rang. Kim got up and answered it, and her face lit up when she realized who was on the other end.

"Josh! Hi. How are you today?"

"_I'm fine Kim. How are you?"_

"Let's just say I've been better. Ron and me are working on our project for Barkin's class right now."

"_Ron Reager?"_

"No. Ron Stoppable."

"_Oh yeah… you're partner."_

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"Hey are you two talking about me?" Ron interjected.

Kim put a finger to her lips to quiet him down as she went back to her conversation with Josh.

"_So I was thinking Kim, next Friday, how about you and me finally do that first date?"_

"Oh Josh I would love to!" Kim squealed.

"_Cool."_

The two finished up their conversation before Kim hung up the phone and went back to sit at the table in an almost dream-like state. This did not go unnoticed by Ron.

"Um Kim are you are?"

"Never better." She smiled.

"What's going on?"

"I have a date with Josh in exactly eight days. And this time you're not going to manage to screw it up."

"Oh."

The two teens sat there and continued to work on their project until around seven in the evening when Kim's parents got home. Not wanting to intrude, Ron excused himself as the family prepared to eat dinner. He just didn't feel comfortable there at their house, especially when Kim's parents were home.

As Ron walked home, he thought about where his life was going now. He no longer was in any shape to make money thanks to Kim. He had only one friend, that being Monique. It was a shame he didn't have more.

XXXXXXXXXX

Josh hung up the phone as his own blue eyes met the teal pair of another person. A wicked smile formed on his face as he spoke.

"It's on."

"Good." The female brunette said.

"So, tell me again why we're doing this?"

"Come on Josh. Imagine it. Imagine her reputation ruined forever. Imagine little miss perfect being on display to the entire world as nothing but a whore."

"So that's why we're recording it?"

"Yes."

"Okay, but still what's in it for me."

"You remember our agreement don't you?"

"Remind me."

Bonnie got up and walked over toward Josh. She then planted a lustful kiss on his lips, as her hands roamed down to his belt and undid it. Slowly she slid his pants off, before she did the same with hers.


	11. Chapter 11

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who has cared about this story. I never would have imagined this story would be so successful. You're all awesome! Also thanks to everyone who is reading my other story, The Legionnaire. I know that some of you are reviewing both, and it truly means a lot to me that you care.

Also, those fans of a little internet series called Red vs. Blue may notice I have used some dialogue from the show for this chapter. I acknowledge that it is not mine, and it belongs to the boys at Rooster Teeth. So please don't hate me too much, it's only a little bit of dialogue!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible. Seems like I have to say it for every chapter I do.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was another typical day for Ron. Here he was once more at Kim's house working on their history project. So far their they had been progressing nicely. They were about halfway done with it, and Ron had done the bare minimum. That was his way after all. If someone else was willing to do the work, who was he to keep them from doing it?

This did not go unnoticed by Kim however.

"Ron, are you ever going to help me?" She asked him.

"Hey I've helped plenty." He lied.

"With what?"

"I wrote some of our dialogue for the speech."

"All you wrote was the closing line, 'thank you ladies and gentlemen, we've been great'."

"And it's a killer line. Can you imagine how well it's going to go over when I say it?"

Kim couldn't help but smile at him when her kimmunicator began to chirp. Grabbing it off the table to switched it on to reveal the face of Wade.

"What's the sitch Wade?"

"You've received a hit from a Lord Montgomery Fiske."

"Oh sounds British. Neat." Ron said.

"He says he has an important mission for you."

"What might that be?" Kim asked.

"He says that there is an important jade statue in the jungles of The Congo that needs to be recovered."

"What's so important about the statue?"

"Don't know. But according to him the museum in London wants this thing bad."

"So, what are we going to do about this?"

"I set you up with a ride from Global Justice. Your ride should be there in about an hour."

"Any idea who's flying?"

"I don't think you want to know Kim."

"Don't tell me…"

"Afraid so. Will Du."

"Will who?" Ron asked.

"Only the most pompous, arrogant jerk I've ever met." Kim answered.

"Aww, thanks."

"For what?"

"For not thinking of me as the most pompous arrogant jerk you've ever met."

That once more earned a smile from Kim. Like it or not, she was actually starting to get used to Ron. He wasn't all that bad of a guy once she got him away from his missions.

"Alright Wade, thanks for the tip." Kim said as she switched off the kimmunicator.

Ron stood up from the table and began to stretch. He knew that he was going to have to go home to change into his mission outfit, as he didn't keep a spare set at Kim's house. Then suddenly he stopped in mid motion, and looked at Kim with a look of horror on his face.

"Wait a minute Kim." He said. "Where's The Congo?"

"In Africa."

"And there are jungles there?"

"Pretty much."

"Jungles with monkeys?"

"Maybe."

"Oh no."

"What's wrong Ron? Are you afraid of monkeys or something?"

"Afraid of monkeys, no. Why would I be afraid of monkeys? Why would you even ask that question? Are there going to be monkeys there? That's kind of a thing to ask just for no reason."

"Look, I don't know if there are any freakin' monkeys there okay?" Kim said, very agitated.

"Have you ever been to The Congo before?"

"Yes, I've been there on a mission before."

"Did you hear any monkeys?"

"No."

"Did you smell any monkeys?"

"I don't know what monkeys smell like."

"And let's hope you never find out."

"Okay Ron, you obviously have some serious monkey issues. Want to talk about it?" Kim said as her compassionate side took over, putting a hand on Ron's shoulder.

Ron flinched at Kim's touch, and she immediately moved her hand away and began to blush.

"Well, it all happened a long time ago. Our class was on a field trip to the zoo. I was standing by the monkey pit, and I had a banana in my hand."

Ron took a seat as he began to sweat a bit just remembering the incident.

"One of the other kids thought it would be funny if he pushed me into it. So I fell into the pit with that banana. The monkeys… they started running over to where I was. They grabbed me, poked me, hit me, all trying to get the banana. And then they started to fling their… stuff at me."

Kim noticed a look of fear in his eyes as he told his story. Truth be told she actually felt a little sorry for him. It wasn't every day that someone shared their deepest and most personal fears with someone who they considered to be an enemy. But that's exactly what Ron had just done. Kim didn't know if she should feel honored about this. But it was at least one piece to the puzzle known as Ron Stoppable's mind.

"Look, it's okay Ron. I'm sure we won't run into any monkeys on our mission."

"Yeah. I hope not."

With that Ron stood up once more and let himself out of Kim's house. As he walked home he thought about what he had told her. Surely it wasn't a mistake, was it? She wouldn't use this information against him. She was a good guy. And no matter how much she may have disliked him, Ron couldn't imagine her using personal information like that against him in any way. It just wouldn't be very hero-like.

When Ron got home he immediately went up to his room and changed into his mission outfit. It had been a while since he had worn his black cargo pants. They were like a second skin to him. It reminded him of all the good times he had on missions. But then he thought about something. Maybe, just maybe, he would have some good times again, just in a different way.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Global Justice hover jet wasn't very well lit, nor was it very comfortable. But it would just have to do. Kim and Ron sat in the back with their backs against the walls facing each other. Neither was willing to make eye contact with each other as the flight progressed.

Ron tilted his head back and rested it against the wall of the aircraft. He closed his eyes and began thinking of the things that made him happy. Money. Food. Girls. He had plenty of the first due to his missions. Food was always plentiful in his house. Girls on the other hand, were not. Ron Stoppable had never had a girlfriend. Like it or not, he was a loser at his old school. He had hoped to change things once he started attending Middleton High School, but thanks to Bonnie Rockwaller he had already been branded a loser.

The truth of the matter is though, he was just a goofy kid. He was afraid to let his guard down around people that he did not know. This was due to years of torment from those who had always called him a loser. Over time he had learned not to trust in others, and only in himself. He began to build up a wall around himself, and put up a false front. This is the reason why he acted so cocky and confident around people such as Kim. If she ever found out that it was just an act, who knows what ramifications it might have for him.

As Ron sat back and daydreamed, Kim reached over to her backpack she had brought along and produced a series of books and papers.

"Ron. Wake up." She told him.

"Huh, what?"

"I figured that rather than sleeping, we could work on our project on our way to the mission."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Wow. You are such a textbook blue fox." He told her.

"A what?"

"Blue fox. Animology. Haven't you ever done it?"

"Oh that? Yeah right. That fad was so lame."

"It's not lame! It let's you peer deep inside yourself to find out the true you!"

"Uh huh, right. So what did that stupid test say you-"

"I am not a pink sloth!"

"Excuse me?"

"What? Oh nothing."

"Right…"

Ron began to fidget around uneasily at this. Surely Kim didn't even know what a pink sloth was, as she didn't ever get into animology. So why was he so worried? Was he that concerned that she not find out that he was nothing but a loser?

In the end, Ron relented and the two began to work on their project once more. At least Kim worked on it while Ron drew more doodles and one bad attempt at poetry about Rufus. But at least Kim thought he was working. And that was all that mattered to him at the moment.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Congo. The steamy jungles stank of overripe bananas. At least that's what Ron thought. This was one place he had never expected to be. His missions were confined to the United States, mostly in urban areas. He never dreamed of going around the world as Kim Possible's partner, especially in a place where a bunch of tree-swinging, banana eating freaks of animals lived.

Ron looked around warily every few seconds expecting a monkey to just jump out of the trees and attack them. Kim had tried to convince him that his fears were all in his head, but he would have none of it. His fears were real darn it! According to him every single monkey on the planet was an evil being that was sent to make his life miserable.

Kim led the way through the jungle, machete in hand slashing through the thick vines and leaves that blocked their path. Ron had no such tools in his grasp. Kim not only didn't trust him with one, but she saw little point in him having one considering he would be following her the entire way.

They had been mostly silent since the hover jet landed and let them off. Ron considered this for a moment. Did they really have much to discuss? Other than their history project and the fact that they were on a mission, they didn't really have much to talk about. But still it would have been nice to talk about something. The silence only made his monkey fears more real. Without talking he could hear the sounds of the jungle, sounds that quite frankly disturbed him.

Deciding to break the silence, Ron spoke up.

"So Kim. About this mission. What exactly are we looking for?"

Kim didn't bother turning around to see him when she responded.

"I told you already. Some jade statue."

"Any idea what it looks like?"

"Well according to Wade it looks like a monkey."

"Monkeys!" Ron screamed. "What is it with these darn creatures? Why must they always haunt me!"

"Amp down the drama Ron. I told you before, I didn't see any monkeys on my last mission here."

"I know I know. But still, it doesn't mean I'm wrong!"

"Whatever." Kim said nonchalantly.

"Oh don't you whatever me." Ron bit back. "You're lucky I'm coming along to help you on this stupid mission anyway."

"As if I wanted your help. Remember, we're only doing this to maintain my public image. Can't let the media think I'm dumping you because you got hurt."

"Well if you hadn't told that lie in the first place we wouldn't be in this mess."

This on the other hand did prompt Kim to stop and turn around to face Ron.

"Oh and I suppose you would rather be in a Global Justice holding cell right now? Because that's what would have happened if I told them the truth about who you are."

Ron didn't reply to that, at least not with any words. He mumbled something under his breath, knowing that he was defeated.

"Okay new question Kim." He said. "Where exactly are we looking for this horrible little monkey statue thing?"

"Well, Lord Fiske said it would be somewhere in a cave. He also said that normally these things would be housed in temples, like the one he found in Cambodia. But for this particular one there aren't any temples built for it. It was just stored in a cave."

"So the people behind this got lazy. I can understand that."

"Yeah Ron, I know first hand just how lazy you can be." Kim smiled.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"I bring up the fact once more, that you have written exactly one line for our project. One!"

"It takes time for The Rondo to get his creative juices flowing. Calm yourself Kim."

"Again with 'The Rondo' stuff. Will you just get over yourself?"

"You're impossible."

"Check my name."

"Ugh." He said. "What is it with you and those catch phrases anyway. 'What's the sitch Wade?'. 'I can do anything!'. They are so freakin' annoying!"

"Uh huh. This coming from a guy who thinks 'Boo yah' is cool."

"Hey!" Ron protested. "Boo yah is not a catch phrase. It's a state of mind, a way of life. You should try it out, you'll live longer."

"I would prefer not to."

"So a blue fox…" He trailed off.

The two continued to slash their way through the jungle for what seemed like hours. At least that's what Ron thought. In actuality it had probably only been about twenty minutes. But in the blistering heat of the jungle and the horrendous humidity, it didn't seem like it. Finally Kim decided that they could take a break. Ron was happy to hear this.

Sitting down on a fallen tree trunk, Ron took a sip of his canteen with delight. The cool water slid down his throat. After all the walking, it just felt so refreshing. Kim was doing the same, and even took the opportunity to spill some onto her head to help keep cool.

They sat for about five minutes in silence. As Ron thought about this, he couldn't help but begin to laugh. There was just something about the uncomfortable silence between the two that made him start to smile and giggle. Kim only looked at him with a slightly confused look on her face.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Nothing." Ron said.

"Spill."

"It's nothing really."

"People don't just laugh at nothing for no reason Ron." She countered.

"Okay okay. It's just that sitting here with you-"

Kim cut him off.

"Oh what, am I being funny?"

"No no!" He said truthfully.

"Then what?"

"It's just that sitting here saying nothing. It makes me laugh. The uncomfortable silence between the two of us is hilarious."

Kim wasn't seeing the humor in it all.

"Okay…" She said.

"I told you it was nothing."

"Yeah. It really was. Come on let's get going."

The two teens stood up and once more began their trek into the steamy jungle. Ron was once more looking around and could have sworn he saw a monkey. But he dismissed it to his overheated brain. He couldn't believe that he had told Kim about his monkey phobia. This would just not do. How could he have been so stupid as to tell his arch nemesis about his biggest fear in the world? That was just not good super villain form.

It was at that point that he had to remind himself that he was not a villain. He had said it all along. He sometimes did bad things for bad people. But he was done doing that. He had told that to Kim herself, as well as her mother. Ron was a man of his word too. If he said he was going to do something, he made it a point to go and do it. So there would be no more working for villains, no more easy cash. Ron would miss it though. There was a definite level of excitement that came with that he used to do. Maybe he would ask Kim to go on more missions, at least when the exciting ones came up.

As Ron thought about these things, he realized that they had come to a clearing in the jungle. Before them stood a massive mountain with a water fall flowing off to the side. In the middle of the mountain was an entrance. This was no doubt what they were searching for. Ron looked at the mountain with awe. He had never been so close one. And they couldn't have seen it from a distance do to the thick jungle canopy overhead.

Kim was looking equally as impressed with the mountain as Ron took a few steps forward to be next to her.

"So…" He began. "This is it."

"Yup. This is it."

"So do we just walk in and find it?" He asked.

"Guess so."

The pair walked over to the entrance as Kim took out her flashlight. Ron was thankful to be out of the jungle. There was less of a chance for a troop of monkeys to ambush them in this way. But this did not mean that all of his fears were dispelled.

The two walked through the cave with flashlights in hand, searching for the jade monkey statue. That's when Ron started hearing funny noises.

"Kim I heard something!" He yelped.

"You didn't hear anything."

Another noise.

"There, did you hear that?"

"Yes, I heard water dripping."

"Sounds like monkeys!"

"Ron, monkeys aren't made of water. Monkeys don't drip!"

"Monkey water!" He whined.

"There are no monkeys!"

"You don't know that. What if you're wrong?"

"Okay, let's say I'm wrong. "Let's say there are monkeys? We have a machete. I'm also trained in sixteen styles of kung fu. You're not so bad in martial arts yourself. What could a little monkey possibly do to us?"

There was a brief moment of silence as Kim and Ron looked each other in the eyes.

"So basically you're saying you think there are monkeys here!" He said pointing a finger at her accusingly.

"My goodness." Kim sighed. "You're the impossible one."

"I'm getting out of here!"

"Oh really? It's at least a half hours walk back to the hover jet. And you wouldn't want to be all alone if some rabid monkeys decided to attack, would you?"

That alone stopped Ron in his tracks and caused him to look at Kim with a dirty look on his face.

"That was just cruel." He said.

"Yeah, it was wasn't it." Kim agreed.

"Oh yeah, Kim Possible sure can do anything. Including scaring people!" He complained.

Kim didn't respond as she started walking once more.

"Lousy monkeys…" Ron grumbled as he followed her.

The two walked only a few more seconds, and both were surprised that there were no traps of any kind in the cave. Kim figured that it would have been hard to plant any kind of traps in a natural cave such as this. It was not carved by human hands as a temple would have been.

That was when she saw a glimmer of greenish light. The flashlight had struck the jade statue, and lit it up like a beacon.

"There it is." Ron said.

"Thank you captain obvious." Kim retorted.

"You know Kim, you don't need to be so snippy."

"You've been snippy with me all day. Why can't I be snippy back?"

"Because you don't have the voice for it."

"Oh and what exactly is wrong with my voice?" She asked, quite annoyed at what she perceived to be an insult.

"Nothing. You just can't be snippy."

"I think you're making this all up as you go along Ron."

"Yeah, I tend to do stuff like that don't I?"

Kim only rolled her eyes as she reached out and grabbed the monkey idol and put it in her back pack.

"Darn it, this thing is heavy." She grunted as she put the pack back on.

"Want me to be a gentleman and carry it for you?" Ron asked.

"No."

Quite frankly, Kim saw that as another insult. Needing a man to do something for her so stereotypical offended her. Just because something was dirty or heavy didn't mean that a woman couldn't handle it.

The two made their was back out of the cave and once again into the jungle. They had survived their first mission together. Now all they had to do was survive the rest of their high school careers.


	12. Chapter 12

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing. It means a lot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

The Global Justice hover jet was silent as Kim and Ron rode to deliver the monkey idol to Lord Fiske. Kim was resting her head against the wall of the jet, as Ron was playing some sort of game with Rufus. The little guy had been asleep the entire time on the mission. Whatever game it was, Kim couldn't say. And she honestly didn't care either. She was just thankful that the mission was finally over. They could finally go their separate ways.

But how separate would they get? They still went to the same school. They still had a little more than two years together. Maybe, just maybe, it was worth getting used to him. After all, she did share a class with him. They did need to finish up their project. They might even get paired together again in the future. So it was decided. Kim would try to befriend Ron.

"So…" She said breaking the silence. "What kind of stuff do you like?"

Ron stopped playing his game with Rufus and just looked at the little naked mole rat questioningly. They both shrugged their shoulders before Ron turned his attention to Kim.

"Uh, I don't know. Video games, eating, sleeping. You know, the usual teenage guy stuff."

Kim made a weak smile at him. Of course that's the stuff that he would like. But she wanted to know more. She wanted to know him on a deeper level than this.

"Is that it? Surely there has to be more to your life than that stuff."

Ron thought over it for a few moments before a frown formed on his face.

"Well, I used to do this thing where I went on missions for people. I would get paid for it too. It was really fun."

Kim winced at this. She was responsible for the fact that he would no longer be going on his missions. But then again, why should she feel bad for it? He used to work for villains after all. If anything she had done both him and the world a favor by convincing him to not go on his little evil escapades anymore.

"Ron, I refuse to feel guilty about that." She told him flatly.

"Yeah yeah whatever."

"No seriously. It's for your own good that you're not doing that junk anymore."

"What do you know anyway Kim?" He asked angrily. "You know nothing about me or my life, and you think you know what's best for me?"

"Well I'm trying to get to know you better, but you're just bring a jerk!" She yelled back.

"Oh yeah? Well you would know how a jerk acts wouldn't you!"

"Did you just call me a jerk?" Kim bit back.

"Yeah. I did little miss 'I can do anything'."

Kim didn't even bother responding to him as she just leaned her head back against the wall and once more tried to go to sleep. This was quickly ended by more of Ron's antics.

"Driver!" He shouted. "I said driver! Take me home please!"

The very annoyed form of Will Du didn't look back from his seat as he responded.

"We are currently en route to Lord Montgomery Fiske's manor. I cannot take you home right now, amateur."

"Amateur? Amateur!" Ron shouted. "Look, I don't know where you get off using your college level vocabulary with me, but no one calls me an amateur!"

"Actually, the word amateur is not even high school level-"

"Oh shut up Will, you're not impressing anyone." Kim said.

Ron looked at her in surprise. Had she actually just stuck up for him? Even after the little argument they just had? That was surprising to say the least.

"Thanks for sticking up for me Kim."

"Oh be quiet Ron. I did that for myself, not you."

Ron did just that, and shut up. Looking out the jet's window, he could tell they were not in Africa anymore. There was farm land before them, so they were somewhere over Europe. He hoped that it wouldn't be too much longer before they got there.

He then mimicked Kim's own actions and put his head up against the jet wall. As he sat there with his eyes closed he thought about numerous different things. He wondered if he would ever lose his 'loser' tag that Bonnie had labeled him with. He wondered if he would ever find a friend besides Monique. He wondered why his high school life had to be so difficult.

Ron had always been different. But he had been comfortable with that. He had a friend back in Go City who had accepted him for who he was. Then one day eighth grade, he was betrayed. His friend had become a jock and began to drift further and further apart from Ron. Suddenly his friend had no more time for him. But that wasn't the worst of it.

The worst came when his friend began to mock and ridicule him just to impress his new clique. That had been a betrayal that had stunned Ron to his core. His best friend nearly all of his life had turned his back on him. Soon he began to drift apart with all of his other friends as well as they began doing their own things. But Ron remained the weird kid with the naked mole rat in his pocket. No one would accept him for who he was anymore. They would just point and laugh, and call him a loser.

So Ron had begun to build a wall around himself. No longer would he be the goofy and strange person that he used to be. No, he would put up a false front. He would seem cocky and confident to people. He would not rely anymore on the friendships of others. From that point on he became a loner. It hurt him inside not to have his friends anymore, but he knew that there was no chance of getting them back.

Then Aviarius had come along and offered Ron a job. It was an offer the young man could not refuse.

"Ron."

Ron's thoughts on the subject immediately vanished at the sound of Kim's voice.

"What." He answered emotionlessly.

"We're almost there. Get your parachute on."

"I'm not going."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm not going to Fiske's manor with you."

"Why not?"

"It's obvious you don't want me around."

That was how Ron thought about most people. His parents, Rufus, and Monique were the only people who seemed to want anything to do with him.

"But Ron," Kim protested. "We have a ride set up with British Airways set up for later today after we drop off the idol. It seems that Mr. Du here couldn't be bothered to wait while we deliver it."

"So you jump, and I'll just hitch a ride back to America with him." Ron stated.

Kim looked into Ron's eyes for a moment before breaking off contact. What was it about those eyes that made her so uncomfortable to look into? It was just this certain haunted look that they had. A look that just screamed out sadness. If this was true, she felt sorry for him. She never wanted anyone to feel sad. She would just have to redouble her efforts and try to patch things up between them.

"Look Ron-" She started.

"I said I'm fine Kim. You jump, I stay here."

"Fine."

Kim finished putting on her gear as Ron sat silently with his eyes closed once more. Not exactly the way she had wanted things to turn out between the two of them. But she had a job to do, and if he wasn't willing to come along then she couldn't force him. She would just have to try again another day.

XXXXXXXXXX

Freefalling. Kim absolutely loved it. The harsh stinging wind in her face actually felt good. It was a pure raw thrill. Her parachute could fail at any time and there wouldn't be a thing she could do about it. She just trusted that everything would be okay. She could do anything after all.

There were few things in this world which could match the exhilarating rush of jumping out of an airplane and just falling. The utter sense of freedom. Mankind may have been limited to walking the Earth by natural means, but this did not mean they were not meant to fly. That's what she did sometimes, just closed her eyes and imagined she was flying.

After landing it took a few moments for Kim to get free of her parachute. She had been mostly on target, and Lord Fiske's manor was only a few hundred feet away. The weight of the monkey idol still lingered on her back, and she would be relieved to be rid of it. It was rather creepy she had to admit. Ron's fears of monkeys may be a bit overblown, but even she could agree that the idol was definitely not something she would come to see at a museum.

Upon reaching the door she noticed that there was no doorbell. There was only a heavy iron knocker set on the wooden door. She grabbed hold of it and knocked a few times, not really expecting anyone to answer. She honestly didn't feel anyone would be able to hear such an old fashioned way of getting their attention these days. She was wrong however, when a short man answered the door.

"May I help you?" He asked.

"Yes hi." She replied. "My name is Kim Possible and I'm here to deliver a monkey idol to Lord Fiske."

"Oh yes Miss Possible!" He exclaimed. "Come in come in, we have been expecting you."

Kim followed the man inside and throughout the manor. It was a massive complex, that was for sure. One would easily be able to get lost in the many twisting hallways and rooms that all looked alike. But soon enough she was led into a room where Lord Fiske was currently sitting in with a glass of wine in his hand.

"Ah Miss Possible, how delightful to see you." Fiske said.

"Hello Lord Fiske. I've got the idol here just like I said I would."

Kim put down her back pack and reached in getting the monkey idol out. She held it aloft for Lord Fiske to see, as if she were paying him tribute. She was actually quite proud of herself. She had managed to travel through a jungle in The Congo to retrieve what was obviously an important piece of human history.

"Marvelous!" He said excitedly.

His face suddenly turned dark.

"No… more than just marvelous. This is superb, terrific, wonderful."

"Yeah I think the museum will really… enjoy it." Kim said.

"Mine…" Fiske said ignoring the words Kim had just spoken. "Mine! It's finally mine!"

"Yours? I thought this was for the museum."

"You foolish girl. You do not know the power that you hold in your hands!"

Fiske grabbed the idol out of Kim's hands, earning a small squeak from the teen heroine's mouth.

"What are you doing?" She asked him.

"Come with me and you will witness the beginning of a new age of man! Come Bates!"

He handed the monkey idol to his butler Bates. Lord Fiske then dropped down onto his feet and knuckles, and began walking away from Kim. The short man who had greeted her known as Bates urged Kim to follow. Kim wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but she knew something was amiss. It wasn't every day that you saw British royalty walk around like a common ape.

Following him through the halls, she soon entered a room where four pillars stood, leaving room in the center of them. On three of the pillars was a different looking monkey idol. Kim was beginning to get very creeped out. Something was definitely wrong. But before she could say anything, Lord Fiske once more began speaking.

"So Kim Possible. Tell me what you know about Tai Sheng Pek Kwar."

"I'm sorry, what?" She asked, confused.

"Tai Sheng Pek Kwar! Monkey kung fu!"

Kim was a master of sixteen styles of kung fu, but even she had admittedly never heard of this one.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Stupid girl. You have no idea what true power is then. For I am a master of Tai Sheng Pek Kwar!"

"Okay… and you're telling me this why?"

Fiske ignored Kim's question and continued speaking.

"Did you know that I spent the family fortune to get these!"

Fiske ripped off his gloves to reveal large, hairy hands similar to those of an ape.

"What the…" Kim gasped.

"And these!"

Jumping onto his hands, Fiske kicked off his shoes to reveal similarly hairy feet. However they did not look much like feet. The fact that they had opposable toes made Kim know for certain now that something was definitely wrong with Lord Fiske.

Bates placed the fourth monkey idol onto the stone pillar as Fiske made his way to the center of the pillars. Suddenly bright beams of light erupted from the four idols and bathed Fiske in yellow light. They lifted him high above where Kim and Bates were standing, with Fiske cackling maniacally all the while.

"Bow to my power!" He screamed.

When the light ceased he dropped back onto the floor, landing neatly on his strange, corrupt feet. He then assumed a martial arts stance as he looked evilly in Kim's direction.

"I! Am! Monkey Fist!"

Seeing the sudden rise of hostility in the room, Kim whipped out her Kimmunicator and contacted Wade.

"Wade! Something is seriously wrong with Lord Fiske!"

"What's up Kim?" The tech guru asked.

"I don't really know how to explain it, but I think he just got super powers or something."

"Kim, super powers aren't real. Only comic books like The Villains League of Evil Villains have super powers."

"Yeah but that still doesn't explain-"

Kim was cut off when Monkey Fist kicked the Kimmunicator out of her hand.

"Um excuse me?" She snapped at him. "I was kind of in the middle of a conversation."

"Oh I think your dropped call is the least of your worries now Kim Possible!"

Kim barely managed to dodge the first punch Monkey Fist threw at her before she was forced to block thrust after thrust from the angry Englishman. A knee to the gut caught Kim off guard as she doubled over in pain, and was knocked to the floor by a massive uppercut from her now grinning opponent.

As Monkey Fist stood above her ready to continue her assault, Kim kicked out hard at Monkey Fist's right knee, sending him tumbling to the floor in pain as well. A lesser person would have been unable to stand and continue the fight from such a vicious kick. But Fist had his monkey idol-gifted powers to make him resilient to physical harm.

Still though, Kim could have sworn she heard a crack when her foot smashed into Fist's knee. Kim got to her feet as soon as she could after her blow made contact, followed soon after by Monkey Fist.

"So Kim Possible, I see you're not all talk after all." Fist said darkly. "Well then, we will see how well you do against a new kind of opponent. Monkey Ninjas, attack!"

At first Kim didn't do anything. The sheer thought of a bunch of monkeys dressed as ninjas almost made her laugh. But that was when she saw four black garbed monkeys emerge from the doorway and surround their master.

"Well this is new." Was all Kim could come up with.

The first monkey leapt at Kim, who stood passively until the last moment when she reached out with her hands to catch the flying monkey. In the same fluid motion she spun and flung the monkey hard at the wall, and was rewarded with the sickening thud of the creature hitting the wall.

The other three monkeys took note of this and realized if they were to succeed then they would have to attack as a group. The monkey ninjas split up, one staying in front of Kim, while the other two moved to either side of her. With an unspoken command all three of the monkeys attacked her at once.

Kim kicked hard at the first monkey on her right, knocking it back with solid contact from her boot. The one on her left flung himself at her which Kim managed to duck under. But it was the one from the center that finally managed to land a blow, which connected hard with her jaw. Kim could hardly believe that a monkey could throw such a punch, but then again, she had been surprised a number of times already today.

Kim once more dropped into a fighting stance as she began to battle against the center monkey. The little monster was actually able to deflect her first punch and land another of his own to her midsection. Kim knew that she would have to try harder now, and not underestimate her opponents. She feigned a right hook, but then delivered a powerful roundhouse kick into the center monkey, sending it tumbling backwards and out of the fight.

By now the other two monkeys had recovered and once more threw themselves at Kim with all their might. But she was just too skilled for them, and was able to dispatch them with little difficulty. That was when she made her first and last mistake. She turned her back on Monkey Fist.

She realized her mistake when she felt a sharp pain in her left knee. Monkey Fist had taken the opportunity to deliver a savaged kick of his own to the side of her leg, and Kim's leg buckled from underneath her immediately. She was down to one knee as Monkey Fist then sent another kick into the side of her head, knocking her out cold.

"Foolish girl…" He muttered.

He motioned Bates to pick her up and follow him out of the room. The monkey ninjas followed suit and soon they left the room empty, except for the monkey idols.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron was peacefully sleeping on the Global Justice hover jet just as he had been for the past half hour or so. It was easy to sleep when your arch foe wasn't around to distract you with questions. However his sleep would not last much longer. Though he didn't realize it, his phone had been vibrating for the past couple of minutes. Rufus however was awakened by the shaking and quickly scurried up Ron's shirt and onto his shoulder. The little mole rat then proceeded to tap on Ron's head until the boy woke.

"Ugh what is it Rufus? Can't you see that I'm trying to sleep here?"

Rufus chattered something as he pointed at Ron's pocket.

"What? Oh right my phone. I wonder who's calling."

Ron took his phone out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID. It wasn't a number that he recognized, and the name wasn't shown. Looking at Rufus for confirmation, he then pressed the talk button.

"Um, hello?"

"Ron. Why haven't you been answering. I've been calling for the past few minutes." The other voice said.

"Uh huh…" Ron responded. "Who is this?"

"Wade."

"Wade? Wade who."

"Wade as in Kim Possible's technical assistant."

"Oh. That Wade. The one I called that one night in Sacramento?"

"Yes but that's not important right now."

"Hey now did you get this number anyway?"

"That's not important either!"

"Okay since you seem to know what's important why not tell me already?"

"Kim's in trouble and she needs help." Wade said urgently.

"In trouble? How?"

"Something is very wrong with Lord Monty Fiske."

"Yeah I could have told you that with him wanting that stupid monkey idol. What kind of a man wants anything to do with those smelly hairy tree-swinging banana eating things?"

"Ron you have to turn around and help her!"

"Um, why?"

A moment of silence passed between the two of them as Wade struggled to find words to respond.

"Did you not just hear what I said? Kim is in trouble!"

"Yeah but I thought that she could do anything." Ron mocked.

"Come on Ron. You know you're better than this. If you were in danger she would help you."

Ron thought about this for a moment and silently cursed. He realized that Wade was right about that. Kim would help him out in his time of need. That was who she was after all. Despite the fact that Ron perceived her to be a bit annoying and pompous, she was a good person at heart. She would help out her worst enemy if the situation demanded that. In fact she already had once in the past few weeks when she saved him from a life of imprisonment with Global Justice. Now it would be his turn to return the favor.

"Alright Wade. I'll do it. But not because I like her or anything. Just because it's the right thing to do."

"Thanks Ron. You have no idea what this will mean to her."

"Yeah, whatever. Bye."

Ron ended the call and stuffed the phone back into his pocket. Turning to Rufus he could see a confused expression on the face of the mole rat.

"Well little buddy, looks like we're going into the hero business. Time to save her cute butt."

Ron immediately shook his head after thinking saying that.

"Gah! What am I saying. That's the second time I've thought of her as cute."

Still a bit shaken up by what he had said, he thought about it for a bit.

"Though she isn't exactly hard to look at either. I mean, she is rather… no stop it Ron. Don't think these thoughts."

To get his mind off of these new intrusive thoughts, he got up and walked over to the cockpit where Will Du was still piloting the jet.

"Yo dude." Ron said. "We have to turn around."

Will formed a scowl on his face as he turned his head to face Ron.

"We will not be diverting from our current course. It was Miss Possible's decision to take a commercial flight back from England."

"No man, she's in trouble and we have to go rescue her."

"I do not care what situation she is in. If amateurs like her cannot handle the pressures of missions she should not go on them."

"Dude, we're going to turn around one way or another. So I suggest that you be the one who's flying when we do."

"We will not be turning around." Du said flatly. "And what exactly did you mean by-"

He never finished his sentence as Ron took out his bottle of Hench Co knockout gas, the very same that he had used on Kim in Sacramento. Within seconds of being sprayed Will was out cold. Ron immediately grabbed Will's unconscious body and dragged him out of the seat. Ron then sat down behind the controls and looked over the plethora of buttons in front of him.

"Uh Rufus. I think you'd better look for an owners manual or something." Ron said as he turned the jet around. "Because I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing."

Rufus immediately went scouring through the many papers and booklets next to the co-pilots seat. If Rufus couldn't find anything, Ron just hoped that all of the hours he spent playing flight simulator type video games would help him land this thing.


	13. Chapter 13

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who cares about this story, especially those who review. It means a lot to me that you take the time to do so.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

In reality Ron had no idea how to land a Global Justice hover jet. But his hopes had come true. Thanks to his many years of playing video games he was able to make a rough crash landing a few hundred yards outside of Lord Fiske's manor. The coordinates had been provided to him by Wade, and now it was mission time.

Ron looked at the unconscious body of the GJ officer who he had personally knocked out. He actually felt a bit good about what he had done. Will Du was a cocky and self-centered jerk. In Ron's mind, the guy got what was coming to him.

But he was still left with the decision of what to do with the boy. He thought of Will as a boy because he looked only about a year older than Ron himself. He silently wondered what it must be like to be a teenager working for that organization. He then thought about what the circumstances must have been for Will to come to work for them. Ron guessed that they were probably not good, as most teenagers do not aspire to work for an international law enforcement group.

Ron decided that it would be best to leave Will's body behind and just go on this mission solo. There was no telling how long he would be out for and Ron could not waste any time waiting on the boy to wake up.

He got off the jet and began walking toward Fiske's manor. He was happy he was garbed in his all black mission outfit. At this time of night it would be difficult for anyone to see his movements. He would just have to make sure that he was quiet the entire way there.

Upon reaching the manor he could only look at it in awe. The place was truly massive. Fiske had to be royalty in order to have a home like this. There was only one problem now. How would Ron get in?

"Yo Rufus." He said. "Any ideas of how to get in?"

Rufus made a noise that sounded like glass breaking.

"Really? You think we should break a window or something?"

Rufus nodded in agreement.

"Alright. There are a lot of windows on the ground level. Probably leads to the basement or something. Which one should we choose?"

Rufus pointed to Ron's right, which would lead to the back of the house. It made sense. If anything they should be going in the back way. There was less likelihood of anyone being there compared to the front of the house.

Ron moved silently and stealthily along the side of the house until he reached near the back of the manor. He set his sights on the window there.

"Here's hoping that no one hears this." He said to no one in particular.

It was a good thing Ron was wearing steel toe boots. He made a running start and then kicked with all his might at the window, putting a good sized hole into it. He then proceeded to clear out the rest of the glass with his boot. There was his entrance. This was how he was going to get into the manor to save Kim.

"Alright Rufus, ready?" He asked his companion.

Rufus squeaked in agreement as the two entered the complex.

The room he had entered looked to be some sort of library. That was apparent to him because of the many shelves of books against the walls. Ron wondered how someone could read so much. He really only read when his teachers required him to read something. As far as he was concerned, school was the only time for reading. So it boggled Ron's mind to see the amount of books on the walls that there were.

"Okay Rufus, I don't like this place." He said. "Let's get out of here."

Ron made his way through the twisting hall ways of Lord Fiske's manor and soon found himself in a most strange room. In the room were four stone pillars, each with what looked like a monkey idol on it. Ron immediately recognized the one he and Kim had found in the cave.

"I don't like the looks of this place either…"

Ron wandered around the room for a minute and soon found himself in the center of the stones. Suddenly four beams of light shot out from them and enveloped a screaming Ron in bright yellow light. He was lifted off the ground much to his displeasure. Pain shot through his body as he continued to flail in the air, but to no avail. There was no release from the beams. He continued to scream until he was finally lowered back to the ground.

"Um Rufus? I don't know what the heck just happened, but I don't think I like it."

Rufus squeaked in acknowledgement and it was apparent that he had no idea what had happened either.

"I don't know, but something tells me that it wasn't good."

Unfortunately for Ron his screaming had not gone unnoticed. He heard the quick and hard footsteps of someone approaching the room. Looking around Ron realized there was no where to hide. He would have to face whatever was coming his way.

The angry form of Monkey Fist entered the room and his eyes immediately spotted Ron.

"What… who are you?" He asked in his confusion.

"Um, I'm Ron. Ron Stoppable. You must be Lord Fiske."

"Monkey Fist!"

"Uh… okay…" Ron said uneasily.

"What have you done!" Fist asked angrily.

"Oh yeah I think your monkey idol things are broken or something. They shot me with this yellow stuff."

Fist's rage only grew when he heard these words. Who was this boy? How dare he barge into his home and take the power that rightfully only belonged to one man?

"You… you were hit by the mystical monkey power?"

"Mystical what now?"

"You fool! You have no idea what you have just done!"

"Okay I'm confused dude. First you change your name, now you're saying I did something? Can you like, explain it to me?"

Monkey Fist was now seething with rage.

"When you were struck by the beam from the monkey idols, you gained a power that was rightfully mine and mine alone! Mystical monkey power is my gift!"

Ron still had a confused look on his face as he continued to look at Monkey Fist.

"Dude, you can keep anything that has to do with monkeys. I so don't want any part of it."

"You already are a part of it. The process is irreversible. And now there is only one solution. You must die!"

Ron's eyes opened wide at this last statement. Had Fist just said he was going to kill him?

"Um… maybe we can just talk about this…" Ron said uneasily as he took a few steps backwards.

"No. Prepare to meet your end boy!" Fist said as he threw himself at Ron.

Ron had no idea how he did it, but he was able to dodge the fist of the madman who was set against him. It was as if he now had abnormal speed and reflexes.

Monkey Fist once more lunged at Ron, his fists ready to pound Ron to a pulp. But Ron once more managed to evade the blow.

"Foolish boy!" Fist screamed. "Stand still and I will make this as painless as possible."

Possible…

A sudden realization hit Ron. He still had no idea where Kim was. That was why he was here after all. Surely this madman who now called himself Monkey Fist had something to do with why she was in trouble.

"Where's Kim!" Ron demanded.

"Kim Possible?" Fist laughed. "Oh I have already defeated her. She is currently under guard in my personal chambers. Don't worry, I will finish her off once I'm done with you. I'm just waiting for her to regain consciousness so she will be awake to feel my wrath."

Well that was something at least. She was still alive. That was good.

"You won't put another hand on her, freak." Ron said with authority.

"Oh what's the matter, afraid for your friend?"

"Shut up."

Ron didn't know why, but he was now seething with rage as well. The very idea of Monkey Fist hurting Kim had done that to him. Considering that they were supposed to be enemies, Ron was feeling very protective of Kim. She was his charge, his responsibility. He was not about to fail her.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve Ronald?" Fist asked.

"Like I said freak, you won't lay another hand on her."

"We'll see about that."

Monkey Fist attacked Ron for the third time. But this time rather than dodge the blow, Ron decided to block it. Fist's hand was caught by Ron, who grabbed it with both of his hands and tossed the Englishman off to the side. He rolled on the ground for a few seconds before he got up, slightly dazed from the counter.

Now it was Ron's turn to attack.

Ron threw a punch with his right fist at Monkey Fist, who deflected the blow with ease. Another strike, once more deflected. By now Monkey Fist was grinning like the madman that he was. Ron faked a third punch, but pulled it back at the last second, only to deliver a fierce left hook which connected with the jaw of his opponent.

This blow sent Monkey Fist reeling back. Roaring with anger, he once again charged at Ron, sending a strong kick at Ron, which was subsequently blocked. But Monkey Fist had predicted this, and immediately kicked with his left leg which caught Ron off guard. It sent Ron stumbling backwards a few feet.

"You know Ronald," Fist began. "Not only am I going to lay a hand on Miss Possible once I'm done with you, I'm going to lay myself on her. It's not as if she's in any position to do anything about it."

"You monster!" Ron spat.

"Yes, maybe." Monkey Fist admitted. "But I'm going to have my way with Ms. Possible, and there's nothing you can do about it."

That comment sent Ron over the edge. The very thought of this sick freak raping Kim sent a feeling of anger and hate surging through his whole body. It was like nothing he had ever felt before. His eyes flashed blue at the very thought of what Fist said he was going to do.

Ron let out a primal roar as his eyes flickered blue once more. This time however they did not revert back to their natural brown shade. He took a step towards Monkey Fist with his own fists clenched with rage.

His mind went blank.

Ron launched himself at Monkey Fist once again. The evil man of royalty once more raised his fists to block the blow, but was surprised when he felt Ron break through his defenses and connect squarely on his jaw. Another blow, followed by another, then another. Monkey Fist had to fall back from the berserk flurry of fists, but it was to no avail. Ron was in a frenzied state and was unwilling, or unable, to stop his assault.

Blow after blow connected with Monkey Fist's face and body as Ron continued to punish him. A jab with his left. A straight with his right. Right hook. Left hook. The style of punch didn't much matter to Ron. In the state he was in he could not choose even if he wanted to. He only saw red.

Monkey Fist finally collapsed to the ground and covered himself up the best he could from the livid Ron. But his own hairy hands were no help against the mystical monkey power imbued Ron.

Blood splattered on Ron's face as he hit Fist again and again and again. He simply would not let up. Fist's face was a crimson mask by this point, but it would not stop Ron. He could not control his own actions at this point, the mystical monkey power had taken full control of his body and mind.

Once it was clear that Monkey Fist had lost consciousness, Ron got off of his motionless body and stood up. His eyes remained blue and his thoughts were still not clear. In his rage he saw the monkey idols sitting on their pillars. He went over to the first one and picked it up. With all of his might he threw it at the wall and shattered the stone. He repeated the process for the other three idols.

Finally Ron's rage began to subside and he saw his handy work.

He saw Rufus in one of the corners of the room trembling with fear. After seeing what his master had done, he was absolutely terrified.

He then looked at the body of Monkey Fist and felt the urge to vomit.

Truthfully Ron couldn't remember a thing. The last thing that he did remember was Monkey Fist saying he was going to have his way with Kim. After that, everything went blank.

"Rufus, what happened?" He asked.

Rufus made several motions of punching and Ron instantly understood that it was he who had done.

"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh. What have I done?"

Ron immediately went over to the Englishman's side and felt the side of his neck. Good, there was a pulse. But he would need medical attention. But there was no way to get in touch with the authorities. Dialing '911' wouldn't work in England like it would in America. That was when he saw something laying on the ground.

The Kimmunicator.

He dashed over to it and hit the button to activate it. Wade's face popped up and was surprised to see who was on the other end. What was more surprising was the condition he was in.

"Ron!" Wade yelled. "You're face! What happened?"

"Don't worry Wade, not my blood. Listen we need some medical attention over here right now."

"What is it? Is Kim okay? Please tell me Kim is okay."

"Yeah she's fine. I think. Honestly I haven't even found her yet."

"But what happened then?"

"I got into a little fight with Monty here. Or Monkey Fist, whatever the heck he's calling himself these days."

"So that's… his blood?" Wade asked aghast.

"Yup. I don't remember what happened. But I think I won."

"What do you mean you don't remember?"

"I don't know Wade. Must be a monkey power thing."

"Monkey power?" Wade asked. "Ron have you gone completely insane?"

"I wish dude."

"Okay." Wade said as he began typing furiously on his keyboard. "A medical team will be there in about twenty minutes. When you guys get back you're telling me exactly what happened there."

"Sounds good buddy."

Buddy? Why had Ron just called Wade buddy?

"I mean, um, sounds good."

"_Nice catch Stoppable."_ Ron thought to himself.

After turning off the Kimmunicator, Ron went over and scooped up Rufus. He didn't know what had happened, but Rufus was still looking quite scared.

"I'm sorry buddy. I don't know what got into me. But I'm still me, see?"

This eased the worries of the mole rat enough. Rufus hugged Ron's face tightly, just happy to have his human back in the right state of mind.

But the mission was not over yet. He still had to find Kim. Only then would he be able to go home and get some rest.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim awoke to find herself alone in a foreign room. She tried to move her arms, but realized they were tied up behind the chair she was sitting in. She tried to stand, but realized that she was bound to the chair as well.

"Well this is just wonderful." She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She looked around for any sign of Monkey Fist and his monkey ninjas. Currently they could not be found anywhere. Or what about his weird little assistant Bates? The same story, he was not anywhere in the room either.

She wondered what she would do now. Waiting for her fate to be handed to her wasn't her idea of a good plan, but at this point what else could she do? She continued to struggle against her bonds but it was no use. She was trapped there until someone released her. And it wasn't like anyone was coming to rescue her anytime soon.

"KP!" A voice said.

That could only be one person.

"Ron?" She asked aloud.

Ron entered through the doorway with a goofy grin plastered on his face. A face that was also tinted red with what she could only assume was blood.

"Ron! What happened to you?"

"To be honest Kim, I really don't know."

"But your face! It looks like it was covered in blood."

"Yeah but it's not mine. It's Monkey Fist's."

"What happened?"

"Like I said, I don't know."

Ron casually strolled over to her and began to try to undo her bonds. Unfortunately for them it was no use. Whoever had tied her up had done a good job of it. Luckily Ron always had a secret weapon…

"Yo Rufus." He said smoothly. "I need ya buddy."

Rufus popped his head out of Ron's pocket and examined the situation. At once he began to gnaw through the ropes as if they were made of cheese. After only a few seconds the ropes around Kim's wrists were chewed through. Kim then began to assist Rufus at the ones confining her to the chair she currently sat in.

Once they were through with that Kim stood and stretched her legs. That turned out to be a big mistake, as her knee was still in a great deal of pain. She immediately collapsed and almost hit the ground, but Ron was there to save her once more. She landed in his arms and leaned on him for support, her knee unable to do anything for her.

"It's okay Kim." He said. "I've got you."

Kim didn't know why but she felt a feeling of ease pass through her as she remained in his arms. She also realized at this moment that she had a throbbing headache. That was when memories started flooding back to her. The monkey ninjas she had defeated with ease. But then that freak Monkey Fist had taken a cheap shot on her while her back was turned. The vicious kick to her head was the culprit for her current condition.

Ron helped her back into the chair. She sat down on it, relieved to no longer be putting any weight on her bad leg. Ron stood there with a concerned look on his face, but Kim would have none of it. Not wanting her own injury to be the center of attention, she reached out and took his face in both hands. Ron was confused by this, and was even more so when she began turning his head from side to side as she examined his face.

"Um Kim? What are you doing?" He asked.

"Checking your face for any open wounds." She replied.

"Why?"

"Because your face is covered in blood."

"I already told you it's not my blood. It's Monkey Fist's."

"Okay Ron. So you expect me to believe you came here, beat up Monkey Fist, then rescued me? Not only that but you apparently beat Monkey Fist to a bloody pulp?"

A moment of silence passed between them before Ron replied.

"Yes?" He said innocently.

Kim looked him directly in the eyes for a moment before she realized something. Despite Ron's lying and cheating ways, this time he was telling the truth. Ron Stoppable had indeed saved her. It was something she was definitely not proud of, but it was the reality of the situation. She was a very prideful person, but even she knew when someone else had helped her. In this case, it just happened to be the boy who used to be her enemy.

"Come here." She asked him.

Ron did as he was told and walked up next to the chair, not knowing what to expect. That was when Kim reached out and gave him a hug from where she was sitting. It wasn't a bone-crushing hug, nor was it a distant feeling hug. For some reason, it just felt right.

"Thank you." She said.

Had he heard right? Had Kim just thanked him? This was definitely something that Ron was not expecting. But none the less, it had just happened.

"As you would say, no big, KP."

"You know, I'm beginning to like how that sounds."

"Boo yah, another point for the Ron-man!"

Kim smiled at Ron before she saw something out of the corner of her eye.

They were back. And Ron saw them too.

"Kim! What are those things!" He shrieked in horror.

"Monkey ninjas." She spat with disgust.

"Ahhhhh! Monkeys!" He screamed as her hid behind Kim's chair in fright.

Kim looked at the ninjas begin to get into their fighting stances before she spoke up.

"I already kicked your butts once today. Care to make it twice?" She asked them.

The monkeys looked at each other. They were unaware of the condition Kim was in. If they had known that she was in no condition to fight they would have pounced on her without a second thought. But their primitive brains realized only two things. That she indeed had already beaten them all once today, and that now there were two humans rather than just one. Even they could do the math and realized that discretion would be the better part of valor on this day.

With that, the monkey ninjas retreated from the room, no doubt searching for their master.

Ron carefully stuck his head up from behind Kim's chair and took a peek at where they had been standing. Seeing that there was no sight of the monkeys, he came out from his hiding place and took a position standing next to Kim.

"Yeah that's right! You'd better run!" He taunted after them.

Kim began to laugh, but not at what Ron had just said.

"What's so funny?" He asked her.

"You. You're actually afraid of monkeys aren't you?"

"Hey how are phobias funny?"

"They aren't. But considering the fact that you beat Monkey Fist, but are afraid of his little henchmonkeys is pretty funny."

"So not."

Hearing the distant sound of the sirens belonging to the English police, Kim decided that it was time to get up.

"Ron help me up please and thank you."

Ron offered his arm to her and she took it readily. When she was up she put her left arm around his shoulders, and he put his right around hers. She would be doing no walking today, as her left knee was lifted off the ground as the two walked. For some reason though as they went on towards the front of the house where the police would enter, she rested her head on his shoulder. It just seemed so natural for her to do so. Her thoughts were no where close to being on her date with Josh at the moment, only with the blonde-haired, freckled boy who had come to her rescue.


	14. Chapter 14

Authors Note: Well chapter 14 is finally here. Sorry about the delay. And thanks to everyone who is interested in this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sirens wailed in the distance as Kim and Ron made their way through the front door of Monkey Fist's manor. She was still having to be supported by him as they walked, as her left knee was in no condition to have any weight put on it. It took time, but eventually they made it through the door and saw a number of police cars as well as an ambulance. One of the officers made his way towards the two teens, a look of concern on his face.

"What's going on here?" He asked. "Is Lord Fiske alright?"

Normally Kim would have been able to respond right away. But she was still a bit shaken by what had occurred within the manor. The guy was an absolute freak! He had monkey hands and feet where his used to be. Not only that, but he had also "beaten" her. Though it had been a cheap shot while her back was turned, she was still the one who ended up tied up in a chair. Her pride had taken a bit of a blow with that. It seemed like that had been happening a lot lately.

Instead it was Ron who answered the question.

"That dude is out of his freakin' mind!" he stated.

"What?" The officer replied.

"I don't know what's going on in that head of his, but he attacked both of us. Not only that but he has a bunch of monkeys running around in there.

The officer wore a grim expression on his face as he nodded.

"Yes… sadly there had been rumors of dementia and the like running through the tabloids as of late. Even reports of his squandering the family fortune on some sort of experiment."

"Yeah, monkey hands and feet!"

"Monkey hands and feet?"

"Yeah dude. The guy is seriously whacked."

The officer nodded once more before walking away to enter the house with the rest of the police. That left Kim and Ron alone as they had to decide their next move.

"So what now?" Ron asked her.

"I don't know. How did you even get here?" Kim answered.

"Oh that? I kinda stole the hover jet that guy was flying me home in."

"You did what!?" Kim shrieked.

"Well it was the only way to get here, and I couldn't leave you rotting in Fiske's house for the rest of your life, now could I?"

"But still, what you did was a crime!"

"Look who you're talking to Kim."

Kim realized what she had just said and smiled. Of course it wasn't beneath Ron to commit a crime. He had been doing it for the past couple of years after all.

"If anything, you should be grateful for what I did." He continued.

"Yeah but… but…" Kim said before sighing. "Fine. Thank you again."

"As you would say, 'no big'."

"Hey I thought you said my catch phrases were annoying."

"Well… they are. Sort of. Okay so they're starting to rub off on me. What do you expect after all the time we have been spending together outside of school?"

Kim nodded in agreement before she saw someone out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head she saw the form of Will Du approaching them. And he did not look pleased.

"You!" He screamed as he pointed a finger at Ron.

"Me?" Ron replied with a confused look on his face.

"You idiot! Do you realize what you have done?"

"Um… well if it's my homework we're talking about, sorry, not done."

"Shut up! Do you realize I can have you arrested for what you did?"

Ron froze and his eyes widened. He hadn't taken that into account when he had sprayed Will with his knockout gas. He hadn't realized that stealing a Global Justice hover jet was a crime. The only thing that had mattered to him at the moment had been saving Kim. And while he was successful at that, now it was time to face the consequences.

"So um, Will old buddy." Ron said nervously. "How about we just forget this whole thing ever happened and go home."

"Oh no. We're not going to forget this. And I'm not going to report you either."

"You're not?"

"No. Because then I couldn't do this."

As soon as Will had finished speaking he delivered a vicious sucker punch right into the mouth of Ron, who collapsed in a heap onto the ground. Unfortunately Kim came down right after him, as most of her weight had been leaning on Ron. The two laid there for a few moments before Kim sat up.

"Will what the heck do you think you're doing!" She yelled.

He didn't respond, but rather sent a savage kick right into the gut of Ron, who was still lying on the ground from the punch. Ron began coughing soon after that, as will just smirked as he looked down at the fallen boy.

"Amateur…" Will said under his breath as he stalked off toward the open field where his hover jet still laid.

Kim was now sitting up looking over Ron as he was still lying on the ground after Will's attack.

"Ron are you okay?" She asked with genuine concern.

Ron then sat up as well as he coughed a few more times, but with a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"Never better KP." He lied.

"You're lip… it's bleeding."

Ron put two fingers to his lips before looking down at them. There was indeed a crimson substance on them.

"Hey, nothing a stop at Bueno Nacho can't fix." He smiled.

"Do they even have them in England?" Kim wondered.

"I dunno. I was thinking more about when we got back home."

"Speaking of which, how are we going to get home?" Kim said as she pointed off in the distance.

The two teens saw as the Global Justice hover jet took off, without them. It wasn't a good sign. It was never good to be stranded in a foreign country, especially if you had a bad knee like Kim did. There were very few options available to them right now, Kim would just have to hope that Wade would be able to come through for them in a pinch.

Wade…

"Shoot!" Kim yelled.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"I forgot the kimmunicator back in Fiske's manor."

"Oh you mean this thingy?" Ron asked as he pulled it out of his pocket.

"Oh Ron you're a life saver!" She said as she gave him a hug.

Ron stiffened up immediately as she hugged him. He wasn't used to this sort of affection from a beautiful young woman like Kim. Especially one who up until a few days ago had been his enemy.

Kim switched the kimmunicator on as the form of Wade popped up on it.

"What's up Kim?" He asked her.

"Wade, we need a ride out of England as soon as possible please and thank you."

Wade typed on his computer for a moment before he looked back at her with a frown on his face.

"Bad news Kim. Looks like the only flight out of London to Middleton is scheduled for tomorrow."

"And we're not in London." Added Ron. "Not to mention we don't even have a ride to get to London."

"So the sitch is pretty bad, isn't it." Kim said to them.

"However…" Wade said as he began typing furiously. "I can get you a taxi to come out to where you are and drive you back to London. Unfortunately you have no favors in the area, so there will be no staying in any fancy hotels once you get into the city."

"So where does that leave us?" She asked.

"How does the Days Inn North Hotel strike you?"

"Could be worse I suppose."

"Alright, I'll set you up with a ride to London."

"Thanks Wade, you rock."

Turning off her kimmunicator, she suddenly heard a loud yelling coming from Fiske's manor. Kim and Both turned their heads to see the police struggling with the form of Monkey Fist. He was in hand cuffs but resisting with all of the strength he had. Then his eyes locked with Ron's.

"My power!" He screamed. "It's mine and mine alone! My power! My power! My power!"

"Yes Mr. Fiske, it's _your _power." One of the officers said to him soothingly.

Monkey Fist continued to struggle all the way to the police car as Ron looked on. Kim on the other hand had a puzzled look on her face.

"Ron, why was he looking at you when he was screaming about power?" She asked.

"Um… I don't know Kim." He lied.

"Okay…" She said. She would believe him, for now.

"You know we should probably get you to a hospital to check out your knee."

"Nah I'm fine, see?" Kim said as she stood up. She was a bit wobbly at first, but she was able to stand on her own.

"Still, let me help you walk."

Kim thought about it over for a moment. She reluctantly agreed, but not because she feared that she couldn't walk. It was more because of the funny feeling she got when she was that close to him. Truth be told, she was actually starting to like Ron. He was funny, caring, and just fun to be around. He was a free spirit. Now that she was getting to know him, he was beginning to open up to her. No longer was her the serious, professional boy she had first met in Denver when he stole the disk for Dr. Drakken. No, now he was a goofy and lovable guy who just needed a few friends in the world.

And Kim Possible was determined to be that friend for him.

XXXXXXXXXX

While it had been inconvenient to stay in England for the night, it had given them time to talk to each other about a few things. Ron learned so much about Kim and her family. He found out that she had twin younger brothers, her father was a rocket scientist, and her mother was a brain surgeon. He figured that's why she set such high standards for herself. She had a lot to live up to as far as he was concerned. What better way to do that than to become an international world saving teen hero?

Kim too learned about her former enemy. He had told her that he was an only child, but she already knew this from their first encounter. He was amazed that she remembered that, especially considering the fact that at the time his family status was not the most important thing on her mind. She also learned about his past. She found out that for pretty much all of his life he had been teased and ridiculed for being himself. So what he had done was build up a wall around himself so that no one else could hurt him. Only in front of people who he truly felt comfortable with would he let down his guard and let them see the true him. Monique was one of those people. And to Kim's surprise, she was as well.

There was a problem however. The motel they were staying at only had one bed. There was no other place to sleep like a couch. So it was decided that the two of them would share a bed. Kim only had one rule, and that was for Ron to keep his hands above the covers at all times. Ron was actually offended that she would think he would do anything while they lay in bed. But on the other hand he could see where she would just want to be careful about such things.

The flight back home was painless though. Wade had hooked them up with first class seats. It was a nice surprise for Ron, who was so used to being anywhere but first class when he went on missions for villains. Kim also enjoyed it, considering when she went on missions she usually had to sit in the back of a cargo plane or something of that sort.

They took a cab back to their neighborhood once the plane landed. It was late Thursday afternoon, meaning that they had missed that day of school. Normally this would be a plus for Ron, however this time it was not the case. There were many places he would rather be than at school, and unfortunately for him he had gone to two places where suddenly school seemed like the better option. The monkey infested jungles of The Congo and the mansion of a crazy monkey obsessed English Lord definitely counted as places Ron would never want to go to again.

But it was all good now. The cab was now stopped outside of Ron's house, where he and Kim sat for a few moments.

"Well, uh, this is my house." Ron said. "Guess I'd better get going."

"Yeah." Kim said back. "Thanks again for the whole rescue thing Ron."

"No problem Kim."

"Yeah. Well, bye."

"See ya."

Ron exited the cab and began walking up the sidewalk to his front door. When he got there he was immediately greeted by his parents who began yelling at him about something that Kim couldn't hear. But that was the last thing on her mind at the moment. For Kim Possible had a date tomorrow night with the hottest guy in school. And this time there would be no Ron messing it up for her. Nope, things were looking good for this teen heroine.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was Friday morning and that meant one thing for Ron. The history project was due. He silently hoped that all of Kim's efforts would be enough to earn him an elusive A. Who was he kidding, of course it would be enough. She was arguably the best student in school. And could do anything! Ron had a good feeling about today.

As he walked to school his mind thought back to the prior day. Just what exactly had happened to him? Monkey Fist had mentioned something about violating Kim in the worst way possible, and that had just sent him completely over the edge. And it wasn't because they were the best of friends or anything like that. Far from it in fact. It was just the chivalrous side of Ron that had been so disgusted by the thought of that hairy freak raping Kim. But why didn't he remember what had happened? Why couldn't he remember doing anything to Monkey Fist? The only thing he remembered after he uttered those words was the Fist being on the ground, his face a bloody mess.

He remembered that Monkey Fist kept talking about power. Was this so called power even real? He figured that it had to be. It wasn't every day that you were shot by beams of yellow light that lifted you off the ground.

Ron shook his head clear of those thoughts. They could be debated another day. Right now he had to get his head in the game. He had to prepare his body and mind for the presentation he and Kim had about D-Day.

When Ron arrived at school he noticed that Kim was standing by his locker. He found this to be quite strange, and the two locked eyes as he approached her.

"Hey Kim. What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Oh, I just thought I would give you some last minute notes I took for the presentation." She answered.

"Ah. Well thanks. But you know I don't think we're really going to need them. We did a great job in preparing for this whole project."

"You mean I did a great job. You just sat around drawing things and pretending to read the text books."

"Yeah… good times."

"Anyway, are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Good, because history is next period, and I don't want you to be unprepared."

"No worries Kimbo, the Ronster is prepared."

Kim smiled at the names that Ron used for them. She had no idea why either, there was just something about his demeanor and attitude that made her smile.

"Alright, see you in class." She said as she walked to her first period class.

XXXXXXXXXX

"And um, as you can see here, the five beaches the Allies landed on were: Gold, Juno, Omaha, Sword, and Utah." Ron said as he pointed at the image of the map on the powerpoint presentation.

"It was the largest amphibious invasion in _history_." Kim continued as she sent a smirk over in Ron's direction.

The two continued on for a number of minutes with their presentation. They had memorized an astounding number of facts concerning the number of troops, ships, casualties, and other statistics that had to do with the D-Day landing.

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen, we've been great." Ron said as they finished.

All in all it was a strong presentation, but Ron was more than happy to sit down and no longer be under the scrutinizing glares of the other students, especially Bonnie.

Kim on the other hand thrived in the spotlight. Her dialect had been flawless, leaving no room for any "ums" or "uhs" in her parts of the speech.

Mr. Barkin was clearly impressed.

"Outstanding work you two." The stern-faced teacher said. "I knew we would get a good presentation from two such outstanding citizens."

Kim smiled at the compliment, while Ron only frowned. Was he really such an outstanding citizen? After all of the things Kim had pointed out to him back at the hospital in Seattle, he wasn't so sure. He had worked for villains after all. What if someone really did end up getting hurt because of what he had done? What if people were really hurt and he didn't know about it? How could he live with himself?

The look of concern didn't go unnoticed by Kim, who saw him from all the way across the room. As the bell rang, she stood up and walked over to Ron's desk.

"Hey. You okay?" She asked.

"I don't know." Was his reply.

"Come on cheer up. We did great! You really came through for us. I wasn't expecting you to actually know anything."

"Thanks for the confidence Kim."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah yeah I know."

Now it was Kim's turn to frown as she realized he was lying. Something was obviously up with him, but unfortunately she didn't have time at the moment to find out what. She had her next class to get to, and so did he.

The rest of the day was a blur for Kim. And there could only be one reason for it. Josh Mankey.

XXXXXXXXXX

So far the date had been perfect. No, more than perfect. The food at the restaurant they had went to had been absolutely delicious. The movie had been hilarious. Now came the private part of the date.

Kim and Josh sat alone in his car in an empty lot next to a park. Kim couldn't imagine how the night could get any better, but obviously Josh had something up his sleeve. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Kim finally spoke up.

"So… I'm having a really good time." She said.

"Yeah me too." Josh said.

What Kim failed to notice was the strategically placed cell phone on the dashboard of his car. A cell phone with video recording capabilities, that just happened to be on at the moment.

Josh smiled as he saw this. It was all part of the plan. To get everything that was about to transpire on video. That was his part of the bargain. Bonnie had done more than enough to ensure that he would get the job done right. She had ways of convincing people to do her bidding. Josh didn't so much mind being a pawn in her little game. After all, he was a healthy teenage boy, who was getting exactly what every teenage boy wanted, from the girl every teenage boy wanted.

All of that just to get Kim Possible on camera, doing something that would shame her forever.

It all began innocently enough, as Josh leaned over to Kim and kissed her. She kissed him back, and in a matter of moments things started to heat up. They began to kiss more and more passionately, until soon Josh's hands began to roam up and down Kim's back. At first she didn't mind, until she felt his hand reach underneath her shirt and began to pull it up.

"Josh…" She whispered as they continued to kiss. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." He said innocently.

But it was far from nothing. His hands were now completely under her shirt and began to fiddle around with the hooks of her bra.

"Josh no…" She whispered again.

"Yes Kim." He said smoothly back to her.

And with those words Kim seemed to give in a little bit. Her bra was now completely undone as Josh's hands continued to roam up and down her body. This time though they went down to her pants as he began to undo her belt.

This sent warning sirens off in Kim's mind as she pulled back a bit out of his embrace.

"Josh what are you-" She was cut off as he kissed her again.

But Kim would have none of it. She pulled back again, this time with a bit of anger in her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She asked him more forcefully

"I thought we would make the night even more special than it already was." He lied.

"Like this? In your car out in public?"

"Sure what's wrong with that?"

"Are you nuts? Did you honestly think it was going to happen like this?"

"Come on Kim. I thought we had something special."

"We do Josh, but-"

She was cut off again, not because he kissed her, but because he went back to trying to undo her belt.

Kim slapped his arm away from her and was now very angry.

"No Josh!" She yelled at him.

"What the fuck is your problem Kim?" He yelled back.

That sent shockwaves through Kim. Had he just said that? Josh Mankey? Surely it was some kind of mistake.

But it wasn't.

This time Josh grabbed Kim by the arm and began to force himself onto her. Kim resisted with all of her might, but despite the fact that she was trained in martial arts, the confined space of his car wasn't exactly the best place to use them. Simply put, he was stronger than her, and weighed more than her. That gave him the advantage at the moment.

"Josh stop it!" She screamed.

"Come on Kim, I'm just trying to make this a night we will both remember."

As he continued to try to force himself upon her, he wasn't expecting her to head-butt him right in the nose. That sent him reeling back for a few moments before he looked up at her with anger in his eyes.

"You bitch!" He yelled.

Josh raised his hand as if to strike her, but Kim was too fast for him. She sent her own fist flying into the nose of the young man earning a cry of pain from him. After that she immediately opened the car door and stumbled out, falling on her hands and knees before picking herself up.

Her vision blurred as she realized she was crying. Running as fast as her injured knee would let her, she realized that she wasn't really close to home. This was just perfect. Her dream guy had just tried to take advantage of her, and there was no one who could help her. Then again, she recognized the neighborhood, but from where? Then it hit her. She remembered where she had seen this street before. She had been here only yesterday.

She was only a block away from Ron's house.


	15. Chapter 15

Authors Note: Surprise. It's been a while, hasn't it?

Disclaimer: I still don't own Kim Possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron was sitting in his living room with a bag of chips at his side and a remote in his hand. He casually flipped through the channels looking for something decent to watch. For him this was a typical Friday night. It had been for several years now. Well, except for the nights when he went on missions. But those were no longer a part of his life.

He reached into the bag and grabbed another handful of chips, and shoved them into his mouth as he settled on a channel.

"Hey Rufus check it out." He told his hairless friend. "It's the Road Combatant movie. You know, the one where the Belgian kick boxer is playing the American guy?"

Rufus raised his head slightly from his nap, before putting it back down. From what Ron could gather, Rufus wasn't all too impressed. And who could blame the rodent, the movie wasn't too great. But there wasn't much else to do on this night, and this was a whole lot better than the TV shows that were on.

"Well I don't care what you say. I'm going to watch it." Ron decided.

Ron sat there with his eyes glued to the screen. He didn't know whether this was because he saw the movie as a child and it had sentimental value, or it was just so bad that he couldn't not watch it. Either way, he continued stuffing chips in his mouth as he stared at the action.

"You see Rufus, the reason why it's so great is because-"

Ron was cut off in mid-sentence as he heard the doorbell ring. As usual he would need to be the one to answer it because he was the only person home. Even his parents had social events planned for a Friday night. Ron didn't know whether to be happy for them or pity himself because of that.

Grumbling something as he stood from the couch, he thought that it had better not be some sort of door to door salesman. Someone like that would have a lot of nerve to disturb him on his uneventful and boring, yet important Friday night. He was about ready to yell something when he opened the door and saw who it was. What he saw surprised him to say the very least.

"Kim?" He asked.

The sight he saw was fairly disturbing. Kim was wearing a black dress along with what appeared to be at least some moderately expensive jewelry. Normally this would be nothing out of the ordinary for a teenage girl out on a date. But it was her face that caught Ron's attention. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face was a mess of wet, runny makeup due to her tears.

"Kim? What's wrong?"

"Can I come in?" She asked weakly.

"Yeah. Come on in." He said as he stepped back and motioned with his arms to invite her in.

Kim came inside as quickly as her injured knee let her and she moved to sit down on the couch as soon as she could. Ron closed the door and followed after her, sitting down on the other side of the couch.

"What happened to you?" He wondered.

"Josh…" Was the only word she could speak.

"Did he dump you?"

"No…"

"Did he cheat on you?"

"No…"

"Then what?"

"He…"

Kim really didn't know what to say. She didn't even know if she wanted to say it. She was having a hard time processing what had occurred only a few minutes earlier. This was Josh. This was the guy who she had had a crush on for months now. This was the guy who she had been looking forward to going out on a date with for weeks. How could he have done something like this?

And then there was the other reason she was hesitant to speak. She was talking to Ron. She had only known him for a few weeks. Despite all of the time they had spent together under so many different circumstances she didn't really know if she could consider him a friend, or tell him things like this. Normally this is the kind of thing she would tell Monique. But she felt ashamed of telling even her something of this magnitude. She was caught in a hard place with only people of two extremes to talk to. Either the best friend or the new kid.

She finally decided that it was something she just needed to get off her chest. Ron seemed like a trustworthy and nice guy, despite everything she knew about him. His actions of not being a criminal spoke louder than those of when he was one.

"Kim?" Ron asked again.

"He… tried to do things." Was all she could manage to say.

"Do things? Like what?" Ron asked, oblivious to what Kim was trying to say.

"Things… bad things… things that teenagers sometimes do in the back of cars on dates…"

An alarm went off in Ron's head as he finally realized what Kim was talking about. Josh had tried to pressure her into having sex. Ron was stunned at this revelation. Wasn't this the boy that Kim couldn't stop thinking about? How could he have turned out to be such a bad guy? Ron really didn't know what to say to Kim at this moment. He had never been in this kind of situation. He didn't want to say something like "don't worry", or "it's okay", because it wasn't. What Kim had just gone through wasn't okay, and she had a good reason to worry.

"Uh… do you wanna… uh… call your parents or the police or anything?" Was all Ron could come up with.

"No!" Kim said in panic. "No, I don't want anyone to know about this!"

"But you just told me."

"You're different!"

"Okay…"

Kim wiped her eyes and tried to regain her composure before speaking again.

"Look, if people find out about this then things are going to get way out of control. Can you imagine what people would think at school if this got out?"

"They would know Josh for the piece of scum that he is." Ron answered.

"No. This… this just would not be good."

"Why?"

"I don't know. It just won't." Kim reasoned. "Please, you can't let anyone know about this."

Ron thought about what Kim was asking him. His instincts told him that he should tell some kind of authority figure. Josh had done something bad. But this was also Kim's business. She had for some reason come to him for help. She had trusted him with this information. He didn't want to break that trust.

"Okay Kim. My lips are sealed." He reassured her.

"Thanks." Kim said warmly.

The two turned their attention to the movie that was on to distract themselves from the conversation that had just taken place. Kim had a look of confusion on her face as she watched.

"What… is this?" She asked.

"Road Combatant the movie." Ron told her. "It's really not that bad if you expect it to be bad."

"Okay…"

"Want some chips?" He asked as he held out the bag to her.

"Sure, why not." She said as she reached in and got herself a few.

The two munched on the food as they continued watching the movie. During a commercial Kim reached for her purse and began searching around in it.

"I must look so awful…" She said as she found her compact mirror.

Ron looked at her face once more, her makeup looking the same as it had when she arrived at his house.

"Nah. You still look beautiful." He told her.

Kim let out a quiet laugh and smiled as she opened her mirror and looked at herself.

"Liar." She grinned.

"Meh, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that stuff."

"That's sweet, but I still need to clean myself up. Can I use your bathroom?"

"Sure. It's down that hall." He said as he pointed.

"Okay thanks. I'll be right back."

Kim got up and walked toward the bathroom. Ron watched her the entire way until she was out of sight. He sat there for a few moments thinking before he finally turned his attention back to the movie. As he reached for another handful of chips, he thought that it was pretty fitting that he was watching a movie centered on fighting.

XXXXXXXXXX

Commander Burns of Global Justice was at work late on this Friday night. Something had been bothering him for the past several weeks now, and he just couldn't get past it. It concerned the night he had encountered Kim Possible. Being face to face with her was nothing out of the ordinary, as several agents of his organization had experience in the field with her. That was the thing, they had only met her.

Her partner on the other hand was a total mystery. He had never heard of anyone named Ronald Stoppable before. She had never been on a mission with him, and had never even mentioned him. Burns was familiar even with her tech guru, Wade, but not this Stoppable person. He wondered just who he was and where he came from.

Burns sat at his desk after hours, searching through Global Justice databases and files trying to find even a mention of the boy. So far all of his searches had turned up empty. It was beginning to aggravate him. He had looked up every mission and every statement Kim had made about that mission, and not once prior to the night in Seattle had he been there.

He decided to access the security footage from the heist in Seattle to get a better understanding of just who he was. Typing in the appropriate passwords, he soon found himself ready to begin watching the video of the night in question. He skipped ahead to the time of the incident. That was when he saw something that intrigued him even further.

A lone figure appeared on the screen. It was none other than Ron Stoppable. But Kim was no where in sight. Burns watched as Ron was looking through papers. About a minute into watching things began to get very interesting. Kim appeared on the screen talking to Ron, and scared him in the process. This definitely did not look like two partners at work.

Moments later the screen shook from the explosion caused when Dr. Drakken arrived and lowered his hover car into the room. For the next few minutes Burns watched as Kim and Shego fought, Drakken stood around doing nothing, and Ron stood at a computer. Then Ron was casually leaving the room before coming back to help Kim and getting wounded in the process.

Burns turned off the video and sat back in his chair deep in thought. A few moments later he decided to try a new set of search parameters.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kim returned after being in the bathroom for a few minutes to clean up her makeup. As she entered Ron's living room she smiled at him before sitting down next to him on the couch.

"Much better." Ron commented.

"Hey I thought you said I looked beautiful before."

"You caught me. I'm a bad liar." He smiled.

"Jerk." She smiled back as she playfully slapped him on the arm.

"Ow! Don't hit me. I never hit you."

"You so did hit me. We've hit each other plenty of times over the past few weeks."

"Yeah but… shut up." He laughed.

Ron softly slapped Kim's arm in retaliation to her own strike. Kim returned the attack, and soon the two were hitting each other lightly in a flurry of slaps. The two began laughing as they did so, and soon each had the other's arm caught in their free hands so that neither were able to continue their assault.

"Let go!" Ron demanded.

"You first!" Kim countered.

"Okay, we both let go on three. Sound fair?" He asked.

"Sure."

"One, two, three!"

Neither teen let go, and only continued looking each other in the eyes. Again they burst out laughing and once again began to struggle to get their arms free.

"Why didn't you let go?" Ron asked.

"Because I knew you weren't going to."

"That's because I knew you weren't going to. And how did you get so strong?" Ron wondered. "I don't mean to sound sexist, but, well, you're a girl!"

"Cheerleading and crime fighting." She answered. "But I think the better question is, how did you get to be so weak?"

"Hey!"

"Well sorry. But you are losing to a girl." She smirked.

"I'll show you who's losing!"

Ron tried to gain an upper hand on Kim, but to no avail. Kim managed to use his own momentum against him and wound up flipping him onto the floor. Normally this would have worked, but Ron still refused to let go of Kim's wrist, and she found herself crashing down on top of him. He yelped at the weight coming down on him and for a moment couldn't see, as long tresses of red hair covered his face. He laid there for a moment before Kim spoke up.

"Um, Ron? You can let go now."

Ron realized that his hand was still around Kim's wrist like a vice. He quickly let go at this realization and Kim picked herself up and sat back down on the couch. Ron hastily got to his feet and sat down again too, putting a good amount of space between himself and Kim. He turned away from her as his face felt hotter than usual and he could only assume he was blushing at what had just taken place.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm good. Never better. The Ron is just fine." He said.

After a few seconds Ron turned his face forward again toward the TV

"Hey Ron, I was wondering…"

"Uh… yeah?" Ron asked hesitantly.

"Do you think I could stay here for another hour or so? My parents aren't expecting me to be home this early. I don't want them to think like there's anything out of the ordinary."

"Oh. Yeah sure. No problem."

"Thanks."

For some reason Ron felt uncomfortable about what had just taken place. He really didn't know what to say at the moment. Normally when he was uncomfortable people had a hard time shutting him up. But this time silence wasn't a problem. He decided that he had to get out of the room for a few minutes.

"Hey Kim, are you hungry at all?" He asked.

"Actually I am. But it's okay, we have these chips." She pointed out.

"No no, I can go make us something. I'm a good cook. I like cooking. Cooking is fun." He began to babble. "Cooking would be my middle name if I didn't already have one."

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to cook something?" She smiled.

"Yeah… unless you don't want me to for some reason…"

"Oh no. It sounds great. What are you going to make?"

"Oh, uh… make… I didn't really think of that."

"So you're going to make us a meal, but you don't know what you're making?"

"Bingo Kimbo. Now if you would excuse me I need to go find some… stuff."

Ron turned and hurried out of the room and toward the kitchen. Kim was left with an expression of confusion on her face at what had just transpired. She turned her attention back to the movie that was still on the screen.

"This movie is just awful…" She said quietly to herself after a few seconds.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron got to the kitchen and began to look around in the refrigerator for something to make. He found nothing, so he opened up the freezer door. Inside he found frozen meats of all kinds. Looking at them he had a hard time finding something that wasn't too time consuming to make and at the same time sounded appealing. That was until he found a couple of steaks.

"Hmm… shouldn't take that long in the broiler…" He mused to himself. "I hope my parents don't mind that I'm making them."

After a few minutes of defrosting the meat in the microwave, he gathered the appropriate supplies needed to make the meal. He sprinkled some spices onto the surfaces before putting them into the broiler. He set a timer so he would know when to come back and flip them. As he was about to go back to the living room he stopped himself and retreated to a spot next to the counter. He leaned against it and began to think about some things.

"_What happened in there?"_ He wondered. _"Why didn't I let go?"_

He replayed the incident in his head again. He remembered his hand being wrapped around Kim's soft, smooth wrist.

"_Soft smooth wrist!?"_ His mind screamed. _Next thing you'll be comparing it to silk! Though it did feel kind of silky… I mean no! It did not feel silky! It was sandpapery! I did not enjoy having any kind of physical contact with her!"_

Ron began to pace around the room, not knowing exactly what he was trying to accomplish.

"_So what if she came here tonight. Who cares if she told you what happened. It doesn't matter that she wants to stay longer. That doesn't mean anything!"_ He lectured himself. _"She doesn't like me, and I definitely don't like her. Yup, this mind is a Kim-free zone. What's that? Something about Kim? Oh I'm sorry, no Kim's allowed here. See that, that's just how little my mind thinks about Kim. I have absolutely no reason to think about Kim."_

"Ron?"

Ron jumped at the sudden sound of Kim's voice.

"Kim!" He said a little louder than normal.

"You've just been gone for a while, I was wondering if you were okay. You were acting kind of strange before you left."

Ron laughed nervously.

"Yup, I'm fine. Just making some food." He said pointing to the timer.

"Okay, but there's still like 7 minutes on it. Are you going to be waiting in here the whole time?"

"Oh. Oh that, no. See, I was… I was… just preparing everything for when I took the food out and had to flip it over."

Kim stood there and blinked a few times before she looked at the table.

"I see oven mitts, a fork, and spices. Anything I can lend a hand with?"

"Oh no. No no no no no. That won't be necessary. Cooking is a delicate and complex thing."

Kim gave him a funny look before she conceded the point.

"I guess… I've always struggled with it. I suppose you understand it a lot more than I do, so I'll leave you alone and let you prepare everything."

She turned around and left the kitchen as Ron breathed a sigh of relief. He really didn't have an explanation for why he was hiding in here. It was only Kim's lack of cooking intelligence and interest that saved him. Had she continued to press him for answers he probably would have slipped up and admitted that he was starting to develop feelings for her.

"_No feelings!"_ He scolded himself. _"No! I don't have any feelings for her except indifferent ones."_

He realized that he was having a hard time convincing himself of this. He couldn't understand why he was developing any kind of feelings for her. He had kept himself closed off to most people in this world. Monique was one of the rare few whom he felt comfortable enough with to let his guard down. She saw the true Ron. She saw the Ron that he was afraid would get picked on if he decided to act like that on a normal basis. And now Kim was becoming one of those rare few as well. Only with Kim, there was more to it.

He didn't know if it was because of their short but unique history together. He didn't know if it was the fact that they had saved each other's lives. He didn't know if it was because of the way they got under each other's skin so much, and at the same time had so much fun together. But whatever it was, he knew that she was different. He had never had a friend like her.

XXXXXXXXXX

About a half hour later, Ron came out to the living room carrying a couple of small, foldable trays that could be positioned around a sitting person's legs and used as tables to eat off of. He also managed to balance some sour cream, butter, and steak sauce in his hands.

"Is it ready?" Kim asked anxiously.

"Yup." Ron smiled.

"Yes!" Kim said enthusiastically. "I'm starving and it smells delicious, I mean I can smell it from in here."

"Thanks. I'll go ahead and bring it out."

Ron turned and went back to the kitchen where he picked up the two plates. When he returned, Kim saw the boy carrying two plates, each containing a mouth-watering steak and baked potato along with forks and knives. He set them down on the portable tables next to the couch. Kim eyed the food ravenously.

"What would you like to drink?" He asked.

"Oh, um, soda please. Coke if you have any."

"Sure do, coming right up. And don't wait for me, I see the look in your eyes. Enjoy the meal."

"Okay." Kim grinned as she grabbed hold of her silverware and began cutting into the meat.

Ron went back to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of glasses. He put a couple ice cubes in each before he got a two liter bottle of Coke and poured it into each glass. He made sure to get a few napkins as well before he started back to the living room.

When he got there he saw that Kim was devouring her food. She looked up at him when he entered the room.

"Oh… wow… Ron… this stuff is amazing!" She said.

"Thanks." He smiled. "I hope you like it."

"Like it? I _love_ it! I don't remember the last time I've tasted something this good. Especially something cooked at home. No offense to my mom's brainloaf…"

"Brainloaf?" Ron wondered as he began cutting into his own steak.

"Don't ask."

"You know, I don't think I will tonight. But another time I expect to be filled in on all the details."

"Only if you bribe me with more steak." She teased.

"It's a date." He said.

His eyes opened wide at the sudden realization at what he had said.

"I mean, uh, more steak, another time? Sure. Another time. But nothing special about that time." He babbled.

Kim looked at him weirdly, but it soon passed as she went back to her food.

"Normally I would ask what that was all about, but I'm too busy being distracted by your food to care."

Ron finished chewing on a piece of his own meal before answering.

"Oh yeah. The Ron-man is all about the distractions."

The two teens sat there as they continued to eat their meals. Two hours after they had finished, Kim decided that it was time to leave as she didn't want her parents to be worried or suspicious about her being out so late. Neither had realized how much time had gone by while they were talking and watching TV. Neither had a problem with it either.


	16. Chapter 16

Authors Note: Hey everyone. I was really happy when I saw that so many people still cared about this story. Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.

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Kim awoke on Saturday morning feeling a bit more tired and sluggish than usual. It wasn't that she had gone to sleep extremely late. She just wasn't feeling quite like herself this morning. She figured it was because Ron wasn't around to distract her from the troubles that had entered her life. She had left Ron's house at around ten on the previous night. On her way home, she had plenty of time to think about what had occurred before she had spent a wonderful evening with Ron.

The thought of that surprised her to say the least. Had she really just admitted that the hours she had spent with Ron were fun? Had she actually enjoyed being with him? Whatever the case, it was over now. She had to come back to reality and face that fact that Josh was a jerk. She still didn't know what she was going to do when Monday came. She didn't know what to expect at school, and who, if anyone, would know what happened.

But Kim decided that she didn't want to think about these things right now. She slipped out of bed and put her slippers on before she went down the stairs and to the kitchen to get some food. She was happy that her knee was feeling a lot better. When she reached the kitchen she saw that her mother and brothers were already there.

"Good morning Kim." Anne said. "You're up later than usual."

"Huh?" Was all Kim could muster as she looked at the clock. It was past eleven in the morning.

"Anything to do with your date? You never did say how your night was."

"Oh, right. It had its ups and downs." Kim explained. She did her best not to lie.

"Well I don't know what to think either way. Last night when you came home, you went straight to your room and I haven't seen you until now."

"She was probably busy writing it all in her diary." Jim said.

"Yeah, we're going to go in her room later and read it all." Tim added.

"And then we're going to put it online."

"And then we're going to cite it as a reference on the Wikipedia article for cooties."

"And then we're going to record a dramatic reading of it and put it on Youtube."

"Tweebs!" Kim growled.

The twin younger brothers of Kim stood from the table and ran off laughing. Kim sat down and began pouring herself some cereal.

"So, come on. How was it?" Anne asked.

"It was… different."

"Did you have a good time?"

"For the most part."

"Are you going to see Josh again?"

Kim thought about the question and wanted to burst out laughing. For someone who actually knew what had happened the night before, the question was absurd. But she had to act as normal as possible as not to draw suspicion on herself.

"I don't think so."

"Aww, why not?" Anne said, seemingly saddened by the answer.

"We just don't seem very compatible." Kim explained.

"But I thought you said you had fun."

"Yeah… but still. Some things just aren't meant to be."

Anne frowned at Kim's explanation before letting it go.

"I suppose you're right. And you know him a lot better than I do."

Kim almost snorted a laugh. Oh yeah, she knew him a whole lot better. And she knew his intentions, and what he was really like on a date.

"Any plans for today?"

Kim thought about it for a moment. She realized that she had absolutely no plans. It was odd for her to have nothing to do. With all the clubs and extracurricular activities she was in, along with volunteer work and missions, this was a rare day off for her. It honestly didn't sound all that appealing for her. Kim couldn't imagine herself wasting an entire day doing nothing but watching TV. But it looked like that was what she was going to do unless she found something to do.

"Actually, I don't." She answered. "I don't really know what to do with myself when I have nothing to do."

"Is Monique free today?" Anne wondered. "You two could go to the mall or see a movie."

"She's working today."

"Well that's okay. There's no reason you can't have a day off."

"I guess…"

"Well whatever you decide to do, have fun. And don't dwell too much on Josh. I know you liked him a lot. But like you said, some things just aren't meant to be."

Anne left the room after this leaving Kim sitting there alone with her cereal. She looked down dejectedly into the bowl. Try not to think about Josh? That would be hard. It would be especially true because of all the free time she would have today. For the first time she could remember, she was actually hoping Wade would contact her and send her off on another mission. Drakken and Shego had been pretty quiet as of late so they were a strong possibility. But she realized that she couldn't rely on that to be her only distraction. She would have to find another. That was when an idea came.

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The annoying sound of a ringing phone plagued Ron's ears. He didn't know if he should answer it or not. On one hand, answering the phone would stop the annoying sound. On the other, it would also mean he would have to talk to whoever was calling. It wasn't like he could just pick up and hang up. Or could he…

Ron reached over to the phone sitting next to his bed and picked up the receiver and pressed the talk button before immediately ending the call. He placed it back on its charger and put his head back down on his pillow. He smiled at his victory.

A few seconds later it began to ring again. By this point he was already awake, but still very tired. He decided to answer it this time. Not bothering to check the caller ID, he placed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He said groggily.

"Hey Ron. What's up?" The voice on the other end asked.

Ron laid there for a few moments, seemingly in a daze.

"What?" He said.

"Ron, it's Kim."

"Oh. Hi."

"Is everything okay?" She wondered. "You don't sound too well."

Ron's brain was trying to process the words Kim was saying, but in his current state of mind it wasn't doing too well.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" He asked, ignoring Kim's question.

"Yeah, it's around 11:30. Why?"

"Why are you calling so early?"

"Early? It's almost noon. You know, afternoon? The time that comes after morning?"

A few more moments of silence passed.

"Huh?" Was all Ron could come up with.

"Don't tell me you're just waking up."

"Yeah, you kinda woke me up."

"That's just… wow."

Ron sat up and began rubbing his eyes with his free hand. He yawned and tried his best to wake himself up more.

"So, uh, what's up Kim?" He wondered.

"I was just wondering, want to do anything today?"

Ron was taken aback by the question. He didn't really know what to say.

"Something with me?"

"Yeah. We could go hang out at the mall and see a movie." Kim suggested.

Ron was puzzled as he sat in his bed.

"Are you calling the right Ron?" He asked.

"You're the only Ron I know besides Ron Reiger. And we're not exactly what you would call friends."

"But we are?" He joked.

"More than Ron Reiger."

"Well, I'll consider that a win."

"So do you wanna hang out at all?"

Ron blinked a few times. He had absolutely nothing to do today, just like most of his days.

"Yeah, sure… I guess." Was his answer.

"Okay. I'll be there in an hour or so. We can walk to the mall since it's not that far."

"Sure."

"Alright, I'll see you then."

The conversation ended and Ron looked at his phone after hanging up. Had that really just happened? Had Kim Possible just called him and asked to spend time with him? On her own free will? It didn't make any sense to him. Maybe he was still too tired and wasn't thinking straight. Maybe he was in fact still sleeping and it was all just a dream. After sitting there for about a minute he finally concluded that it really had just happened. Finally he decided to get out of bed and get dressed and prepare himself to go out. But before he went anywhere he would need some food. He didn't know what to expect in an hour, but he knew that he didn't want to do it on an empty stomach.

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Kim and Ron walked down the sidewalk in silence. Over the past few minutes that had said a few things to each other, but for the most part neither spoke much. They still weren't really sure how to act around each other. Despite the fact that they had shared a long and fun evening the night before, that was over now. It seemed as if the mystique had worn off. There was no more steak to spark a conversation between the two. Now it was just two once enemies, turned fake partners, turned awkward acquaintances bordering on friends.

"So…" Ron said breaking the silence. "I'm just wondering why you decided to call me."

Kim looked down at the sidewalk for a few seconds. She did her best to come up with an explanation.

"Well…" She began. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I kinda didn't have anything to do today."

Ron chuckled.

"Okay, I'll be sure not to take that the wrong way."

"I'm serious!" Kim argued.

"I can imagine what your morning was like. 'Oh look at me, I'm Kim Possible. I'm the most popular girl in school and I always need to be doing something. But since none of my friends were available I might as well hang out with the Pink Sloth'."

"Pink what?"

"Nevermind." Ron said quickly.

"Oh right. Animology."

"You would have to remember that."

"How could I not? You were a huge endorser of it."

"Can we get back on topic please!"

"Okay fine, I won't mock you about your slothness… for now." Kim teased.

"Some come on, why out of all the people you could have called did you call me?"

"There aren't as many as you think." Kim said quietly.

"What are you talking about? You're friends with like everyone. You're in all the clubs."

"Yeah but… there aren't too many who are actually friends."

"What about Monique? You and her are tight."

"Monique actually just moved to Middleton last year. It's not like we've been going to school together since pre-k." She explained.

"Really? I never would have figured that."

"Yeah… it's just that we both love Club Banana. That's something that really helped our friendship out. But it's not like we grew up together or anything."

"Okay, so who have you grown up with?" Ron wondered. "Who's the best friend?"

Kim frowned as she once more looked at the ground.

"Well… I kinda don't have anyone like that." She admitted.

Ron's expression changed as well upon hearing this. But it wasn't a frown like hers. He couldn't hide the shocked look on his face.

"Oh."

Another minute of silence came as the two continued on their way to the mall.

"I mean I have friends and all, but just no one that I've ever gotten super close to." Kim explained.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I don't have a best friend either." Ron said as he smiled at Kim. "Well except Rufus, but you know, no human best friends."

"Even back in Go City?" Kim wondered.

"Yeah… rough times. Had friends, then I didn't have friends. It's all in the past now. I'm starting fresh here in Middleton."

"Oh."

Kim thought about Ron's situation. It had to be rough for him being the new guy in town and not really having any friends. Of course he was friends with Monique, but they weren't close friends like they had just been discussing. Kim suddenly felt glad that she had asked Ron to hang out today. Even if she didn't want to admit it, she liked the time she spent with him. The previous evening had shown her a lot about Ron and his character. When he wasn't a villain he was a very nice, warm, compassionate and caring guy. He could also cook, which Kim considered a definite plus. She felt her mouth salivate at the thought of the meal he had prepared for them. She definitely wanted to try out some of his other dishes.

"So ready for a day of shopping?" Kim asked as her demeanor suddenly changed from solemn to perky.

"Day of shopping?" Ron asked fearfully.

"Of course!" Kim smiled. "Can't go to the mall without doing some major shopping."

"Oh… okay. I guess I could use a new… uh… game I guess. They do have video games at this mall don't they?"

"Probably. I've never been to that store."

"I don't know if I'll be able to handle a day of Club Banana and their ridiculously priced stuff. I mean you can get the same stuff at Smarty Mart."

Kim gasped in horror as she stopped and grabbed Ron's arm and turned him to face her.

"You did not just compare Club Banana merchandise to Smarty Mart." She told him.

"I totally did." He said smugly.

"How… how could you even compare the two! How could you even mention them in the same sentence!"

"Simple. What are those boots you're wearing?"

"These are the new onyx leather boots from the spring collection." She answered confidently.

"Wrong! Those are black leather Smarty Mart boots you can get for $40. How much did you pay for them?"

Kim took a deep breath as she looked into Ron's eyes. Neither blinked, and neither relented. Finally Kim answered.

"It doesn't matter how much they were. These are high quality, name brand, and very fashionable." She told him.

"At least three times as much." Ron guessed.

"I'm not telling you."

"Fine. I'll just find out when we get to the mall."

"No... no you won't." Kim stuttered a bit. "I won't let you."

Ron smirked before he started laughing at Kim's "threat".

"Oh yeah? And how are you going to do that?"

Kim narrowed her eyes at Ron as she thought about the question.

"I don't know yet. But I will."

Ron laughed again before he started walking again. Kim followed after him immediately. There was barely a moment of silence between the two for the rest of the way.

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"Hurry up Ron!" Kim said as she looked over her shoulder.

Ron grunted something in return.

He was busy carrying the six bags full of stuff that Kim had bought from a number of different stores. His arms ached and his feet hurt. At the moment he was about ten feet behind her as she continued on her way to the next store. Just like when she was on a mission, nothing would stand in her way when it came to all of the stuff she wanted to buy.

"Kim… slow down!" Ron panted.

Kim stopped and turned around before smiling at the sight of Ron struggling to carry her bags. She walked back toward him and grabbed the smallest one from his hands.

"Better?" She joked.

"No!"

"Just think about it this way. You're being a total gentleman."

"What ever happened to wanting equal rights? Women could do just as much as men and all that stuff?" Ron wondered.

"Come on Ron, admit it. You like feeling like the big strong guy."

"Maybe if there were weights in these bags! You know I'm wondering if there actually are any in here!"

Kim laughed at that.

"They don't weigh that much."

"Then you carry them!" Ron whined.

She pretended not to hear what he had said.

"Next stop, Club Banana." She said.

Ron groaned at those words. That just meant more bags to carry. At this point he was too tired to remember the earlier conversation about her boots.

The two reached the store a couple of minutes later. Kim saw Monique behind the counter and rushed up to it.

"Hey Monique!" She said cheerfully.

"What's up Kim!" She greeted back. "Someone's in a good mood." She commented.

"Oh definitely." Kim agreed.

"Does it have anything to do with the date?"

Without even realizing it the smile on Kim's face disappeared and was replaced by an almost vacant look. Kim thought about the date and Josh and what had happened.

"Kim?"

Kim shook off the thoughts and looked back at Monique.

"Oh, that. Nah, we're not going to be seeing each other again."

"What?" Monique asked as a stunned expression appeared on her face. "Why? What happened?"

"You know, just didn't work out." Kim explained.

"You're going to have to fill me in on all the details after work."

"Sure… the details."

Suddenly the sounds of Ron struggling with the bags entered the store, and both girls turned to see the boy place the bags on the floor and flex his fingers.

"Next time you're carrying some too!" Ron complained as he contracted and extended his arms.

"Hey Ron." Monique said to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here with Kim."

Monique raised an eyebrow at the explanation.

"Kim? Kim Possible? You and her?"

"Yup."

"Huh… oh well. I guess stranger things have happened." She turned to face Kim. "By the way Kim, I'm loving those onyx boots on you."

"I know right?" Kim said happily.

A light went off in Ron's head.

"Aha! I knew I was forgetting something!" He said suddenly.

Ron walked off to the footwear section of the store and began searching for the boots Kim was wearing. Kim followed after him, still not sure about how she was going to prevent him from finding out how much she had paid for them. It turns out she didn't need to.

She heard a familiar voice enter the store. She turned her head and her face was drained of all color at what she saw. It was Bonnie. But more than just her. Josh was with her, along with a number of popular kids from the top of the "food chain". The last thing Kim wanted at the moment was to be seen by them, or worse, talk to them.

"Ron!" She whispered loudly.

He looked up from the many boots to face her.

"What's up?" He asked.

"We need to hide!"

"Hide? What are you-" He said before he was cut off as Kim grabbed his arm and took him across the store.

"What's going on?" He asked when they had stopped walking.

Kim merely pointed over to where Bonnie and the others were standing.

"Oh…"

Kim panicked as she saw that the group of kids were making their way over to where she was standing. It looked as if they hadn't spotted her yet, but that would change in a matter of seconds. Kim's mind raced trying to think of a way to escape. She backed herself into the corner where the two walls met.

"Ron, get over here!" She whispered again.

Ron did as he was told, and stood in front of her to obstruct her from the view of the others.

"What are we doing?"

"Just… just play along." She said as she looked past him and saw the whites of Bonnie's eyes. "Make out with me for a few seconds."

"Wha-" Ron was about to scream before being pulled into a passionate kiss by Kim.

It was a trick both had seen used many times in both TV shows and movies. Their arms were wrapped around each other's bodies. No one was about to disturb the couple making out in the corner. And no one wanted to stare at them either. In this position Kim's fiery red hair was facing the wall and couldn't be seen by the people she wanted to avoid. And no one knew or cared enough about Ron to recognize the back of his head.

The kiss lasted for more than just a few seconds. Ron wasn't counting but he knew that it was longer than he ever could have expected. He didn't mind this either. He was making out with a beautiful young woman. A woman that he was starting to develop feelings-

"_No! No feelings!"_ His mind screamed once more.

More seconds passed before Kim opened her eyes and looked past Ron to see that they were gone. Slowly she broke away from the kiss and saw a dazed and stunned Ron standing there with his eyes still closed. A few more seconds passed and he had not moved.

"Ron?" She whispered. "Earth to Ron?"

Ron opened his eyes slowly and blinked a few times before he looked back at Kim.

"Oh… hi Kim." Was all he could say.

"They're gone. You can let go of me."

Ron realized his arms were still wrapped around Kim's warm slender back. It was just like what had happened the night before when she had fallen on him. He moved them quickly and jumped back a step.

"Sorry about that…" He blushed.

"No big." She smiled.

"It's just that… that was… wow." He said as he struggled to put together a sentence.

"I didn't expect it to bother you this much. I mean it's not like it was your first kiss or anything."

Ron looked down at the floor and bit his bottom lip a little.

Kim's eyes widened at his reaction to her words.

"It… was?" She said softly.

Ron closed his eyes nodded his head weakly a couple times.

"Oh my gosh… I'm so sorry Ron. I didn't know. I didn't, I mean, I don't know what to say."

"It's okay. No big as you would say."

"No. It's not okay. I mean, your first kiss should be something special. Not me using you to avoid talking to pieces of garbage like Bonnie and Josh. I'm so so sorry Ron. I really didn't know. Are you mad at me?"

Ron let out a quiet laugh and smiled as he looked into Kim's eyes.

"Are you kidding? Of course I'm not mad. I just got to kiss an amazing, beautiful girl."

It was Kim's turn to blush now.

"You think I'm amazing and beautiful?" She asked quietly.

"Who wouldn't?"

"I dunno…"

"Well you are. You're the most incredible girl I've ever met. No lies."

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Now let's get back to shopping."

"I thought you didn't want to shop. Or carry bags."

"Well that was before. I'm in a great mood now."

Kim blushed once more realizing why he was suddenly in a great mood. Had her kiss really had that much of an effect on him?

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Having finished shopping at Club Banana, they had decided to head home. They would drop off their bags and then head back out to see a movie at the local theater. Kim only had one bag of Club Banana merchandise. She had decided to go easy on the shopping for the sake of Ron's arms. She also decided to carry four of the bags. The earlier teasing and playfulness had developed into an affectionate friendly feeling, and she didn't want her friend to hurt himself carrying her things.

Ron meanwhile was carrying the other three bags along with one of his own. His bag contained a new video game he had bought along with a bag of candy he had bought for the upcoming movie trip. There was no way he was about to pay theater prices for candy.

The two were busy talking as they walked through the food court toward the exit. That was when they were stopped in their tracks by someone calling Kim's name.

"Hey Possible!" A female voice said from behind.

Kim and Ron turned to see Bonnie along with Josh and their friends. They group walked up to the two teens.

"What are you doing here K? I was expecting you to be in bed crying because Josh dumped you last night."

The teens laughed at these words.

"And what are you doing here with the new kid?" Josh asked her. "I mean, I know you must be devastated, but come on. Even you can do better than this loser."

Ron placed the bags on the floor and felt his fists clench. Kim saw this and put her own bags down as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't Ron. He's not worth it. Trust me."

The group began laughing once again.

"Oh right. What's this scrawny little punk going to do? He wants to fight me or something? I say bring it on." Josh said confidently.

"No one's fighting anyone." Kim told him.

"Yeah that's what I figured. The little coward is too afraid to throw a punch. He's pathetic, just like you Kim."

Ron's fists clenched even tighter at the insults against Kim and himself. His eyes filled with rage. It didn't go unnoticed by Josh.

"Come on kid." He said as he put his face forward a bit and pointed to his chin. "Hit me. You get a free shot. Hit me as hard as you can and I'll still be standing. Then I'll kick the crap out of you. You'll be a bloody mess and this redheaded skank will have to pick up all the teeth off the ground. You know you-"

Josh never finished his sentence as a fierce right hook crashed into the left side of his face. He fell to the ground hard clutching his cheek. He looked up to see who had delivered the blow.

Kim stood above him, her arm still slightly extended from the punch she had just delivered. Ron, Bonnie, and everyone else stared at her in shock. Apparently she had heard enough of Josh's big mouth.

"Anything else to say?" She asked him. She didn't hear a word from him. "I thought not."

Gasps were heard from all around as she spit in the face of the fallen boy. She then picked up her bags, and Ron did the same. They turned and began walking once more toward the exit.

By now tears were forming in the eyes of the art enthusiast. Once Kim and Ron had gotten a few feet away from them he managed to speak up.

"You're… you're gonna be in big trouble when you get home!" Was the best he could come up with.

Kim and Ron both heard this and couldn't help bursting out in laughter. After they had gotten outside they looked at each other. Once more they couldn't contain their laughter and started up once more, this time even louder. The entire way home they repeated what Josh had said with different variations and put into all kinds of situations. The two decided that today had been one of the best and funniest days that they could remember.


	17. Chapter 17

Authors Note: Thanks again to everyone who has read and reviewed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.

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Kim and Ron were on their way back from the mall and nearing the Possible residence. Neither of them could contain their laughter as they made joke after joke, and neither could hide fact that they were having a great time. It seemed as if it was 1989 in Berlin all over again, and the walls they had built up around themselves had come crashing down.

A puzzled look suddenly appeared on Ron's face as he thought about something.

"Hey Kim?" He asked, his tone changing from humorous to curious.

"Yeah?"

"Just wondering, why did you hit Josh like that? Not that I'm complaining or anything."

"You heard all the stuff he was saying." She told him.

"I know… but still. Honestly I would have liked to take a swing at him. I was about to too."

Kim smiled at him.

"That's sweet and all, but I can take care of myself."

"Oh I know all too well how much butt you can kick. It's just that well, he wasn't only saying things about you."

"Well to tell you the truth, I've kind of wanted to punch him since that stunt he pulled on our date."

"How did it feel?"

"Very satisfying." She grinned.

Ron laughed a bit.

"Well when you put it like that I'm glad you were the one to do it. Think anything's going to happen though?"

Kim thought for a moment about what might happen. It wasn't every day she got into fights with people when she wasn't on a mission. In fact, she had never been in a non mission related fight in her entire life. Even with all of the nasty things Bonnie has said over the years, Kim had never once used her martial arts skills on her.

"Don't know. I mean it's not like he's going to tell his mom on me, he's like seventeen."

"So you think we'll have a sitch on Monday?" Ron asked.

Kim gave Ron an amused look.

"Did you just say 'sitch'?"

Ron couldn't hide the surprised look on his face as he realized what he had said.

"Wow. Yeah, I guess I did."

"I thought my catch phrases were annoying." She smiled.

"Meh… they grow on you. Like a fungus."

"Don't call my catch phases fungi!" She laughed.

"And why shouldn't I? You're too busy carrying all of the stuff you bought, Ms. Shops-a-lot."

Kim decided to do the only logical thing she could think of at the moment, and bumped her shoulder into Ron softly instead of using her hands. This caused Ron to move sideways a bit as he walked.

"Oh you don't want to go there Kim." Ron told her. "I'm the reigning shoulder ramming champ, the best west of the Mississippi."

"If you're the champion, how is there someone better than you east of the Mississippi?"

Ron considered the question for a moment.

"That's not important. What's important is that you don't want to go up against me."

"Bring it on, sloth boy."

"You are so going down for that."

Kim and Ron proceeded to take turns bumping into each other as they walked, each time sending the other stumbling a couple of feet to the side. When it came time for Ron's turn, he lowered his shoulder in preparation for the coup de grace. Instead, Kim decided to stop walking, sending Ron flying past her and tumbling softly onto the grass of someone's front lawn.

At the sight of this Kim began cracking up, and looked down at the fallen boy and the bags he was carrying. She placed her bags on the ground and walked over to him.

"You okay Ron?" She laughed as she extended an arm to help him up.

Ron accepted the hand and stood up before he brushed off a few blades of grass that were stuck to his shirt and pants.

"Never better KP." He said with a smile.

The two picked up their belongings and resumed their walk.

"So what movie did you want to see?" Kim asked.

"Oh there's a great new one that came out last night." Ron began. "Time Travelling Robot Man Vs. The Virally Infected Living Dead Horde."

Kim couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Really? People actually want to see that movie?"

"Of course! It's the long awaited crossover of two of the greatest movie franchises in history!" Ron said proudly.

"The only thing it deserves is an award for the longest movie title in history."

"You're just jealous."

"Jealous? Jealous of what?"

"That you didn't think of the idea first."

"With good reason."

"They expect the movie to pull in at least $500 million worldwide."

"And thus will begin the decline of cinema."

"I can't wait for him to say his catch phrase to the zombies." Ron said excitedly. "I shall return." He added in a bad monotone Austrian accent.

"Who does he think he is, Douglas MacArthur?"

"Who?"

"Ron, we've been studying World War Two in history class for the past two weeks. How can you not know who he is?"

"Oh, uh… I was only paying attention to the stuff about D-Day."

"Figures."

"But the previews look great! Besides, what did you have in mind?"

"Well…" Kim said as she thought about it. "I was thinking more along the lines of "The Awkwardly Charming Bachelor."

"Chick flick!" Ron said accusingly.

"So not."

"How is it not? The star of the movie has been in like three other chick flicks."

"Well even if it is, I'm sure it will be better than the robot zombie movie."

"Robot vs. zombies." Ron corrected.

"Same thing."

By now the two had reached the front steps of Kim's house and went inside. They dropped their bags off by the door and went to the living room to rest a little before they went to the theater.

"Want anything to eat or drink?" Kim asked.

"Nah, I'm good." Ron said as he motioned to the candy he had taken from his bag before they sat down.

Kim looked at the clock and saw that it was about 4:30.

"So how about we leave in like an hour?" She suggested.

"Sounds good."

Kim reached for the remote and turned on the TV. She casually flipped through the channels before she settled on a program that she found.

"Pals rerun okay?"

"Pals works." Ron confirmed.

The two sat watching for a few minutes until a commercial came.

"One thing I didn't like about this show was the constant teasing of Joss and Mitchell being a couple." Ron commented.

"I know!" Kim agreed. "Why are they going to get the fans hopes up so many times that the two characters are going to get together?"

"Pretty annoying if you ask me."

"I'm totally with you on that."

"But at least they finally did at the end."

Their conversation was interrupted when Anne entered the room.

"Kimberly Anne Possible. We need to have a talk." She said in a serious tone.

Both teens looked up to see the woman standing there with a phone in her hand. She was about to continue when she saw who Kim was with.

"Ronald?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, uh, hi Mrs. Possible… I mean Dr. Possible… I mean, uh… Mrs. … Dr. Possible?" He said trying to work it out. "Yeah that works." He added confidently.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but don't you and my daughter hate each other?"

"It's okay mom, we're way past that." Kim clarified. "Ron's actually a really nice and sweet guy once you get to know him."

"Oh. Okay. We'll talk more about that later." Anne said before getting back on topic. "Anyway Kim, do you know who I just got off the phone with?"

Kim merely shrugged her shoulders.

"I received a call from Mrs. Mankey. Apparently he says that you assaulted him today at the mall."

Kim and Ron looked at each other with smiles on their faces that could not be contained. It only took a couple of seconds for them to burst out laughing at the fact that Josh had told his mom on her. It continued for a while, and Kim couldn't compose herself enough to reply to her mother.

"Kim… this isn't…" Anne began as she too was having difficulty keeping a straight face. "This isn't funny…"

The two teens quieted down a few seconds later, but smiles still remained on their faces.

"He started it." Kim stated.

"Look I don't know what he started, but that's no excuse for hitting him. I mean, you just went out with the boy last night."

"You should have heard the stuff he was saying about Ron and me." Kim said in her defense.

"Words are just words, young lady. You should know better than to use physical violence against someone because of that."

"It's more than just that mom…" Kim said uneasily. "There's… other stuff."

"What kind of stuff?"

"Um… date stuff." Was all she could think of to say.

Anne's eyes remained locked on Kim's face for a few moments before she realized what her daughter meant. Almost instantly her eyes widened a bit, but she didn't make a sound.

"Which is why I'm not seeing him again." Kim added.

Anne moved to sit down next to her daughter on the couch.

"Ronald I'm sorry, but do you think I could have some time alone with Kim?"

"No!" Kim said immediately. "I mean, no. I want Ron to stay. He knows all about it. I told him last night. That's where I was when I ran away from Josh."

Anne looked over at Ron who was sitting quietly looking down at the floor. It was clearly an awkward situation for all three of them. But if Kim wanted Ron to stay, Anne decided there was no harm in that.

"Okay then. Do you want to talk about any of it?" Anne asked.

"No. It's all pretty simple. Josh is a jerk, and I ran when he wouldn't listen when I said 'no'."

"Well I'm going to call his mother right back and tell her everything."

"No, just… not yet. Please, I just need some time." Kim explained. "I want to enjoy today. Do it tomorrow."

Anne frowned at her daughter.

"Okay, first thing tomorrow morning I'm calling."

"Thanks mom." Kim smiled weakly.

"You're welcome. So what are your plans for tonight?"

"Ron and me are going to see a movie later."

"Which one?"

"We still haven't decided. It's either a bad crossover involving zombies and explosions, or a 'chick flick'." Kim said, saying the second movie with air quotations.

"_And_ the Time Travelling Robot Man." Ron added.

Anne thought about the situation for a few moments before offering a suggestion of her own.

"What about that new comedy spy parody where the same actor plays three of the main characters?"

Kim and Ron looked at each other and found that neither thought it was a bad idea. Both nodded their heads.

"I like it." Ron said.

"Me too." Kim agreed.

"Glad I could help." Anne said as she stood up and started to leave the room. "Have fun and be back by a reasonable hour."

"Okay mom."

The two teens were left alone once again as they saw the credits for Pals appear on the screen.

"Thanks for saying those nice things about me. And for letting me stay. I know that stuff isn't easy to talk about."

"No big. And what can I say, you've grown on me. Like a fungus." Kim smirked.

Ron couldn't suppress a grin of his own as the next episode of Pals began.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was a little past 8:00 when Kim and Ron exited the theater. Overall they were both very satisfied with the movie, though it wasn't as good as the first one. When they had arrived Ron attempted to sneak in his fairly large bag of candy concealed under his shirt. When one of the theater workers questioned this, Ron tried to explain that he was pregnant. The employee obviously didn't believe him, and the situation wasn't made any better with Kim standing next to Ron laughing the entire time. In the end Ron was forced to either throw it away, or eat it all outside.

Not one to turn down a challenge, he stood outside of the theater and devoured the entire bag of gummy worms in about two minutes. A number of the boys who were hanging out outside applauded the feat, while the girls expressed their disgust. Kim on the other hand was caught in the middle, finding the display both humorous and impressive, but at the same time pretty gross.

The pair began walking away from the theater as they discussed the movie.

"I'm telling you, that guy is a comedic genius." Ron stated.

"I know he's really funny, but some of those jokes were from the first movie." Kim said.

"Yeah but even with the repeats the movie was still great."

"I agree with that, it was a great choice. Much better than undead robots."

"And unfunny awkward bachelors." He countered.

"That will have to wait for another night."

"As if you could drag me to see that movie."

"We'll see."

"So where to now?" He asked.

"I dunno. Is there anything you had in mind?"

"Bueno Nacho is a good choice."

"Ron, you just ate a whole bag of gummy worms and tons of popcorn. How could you possibly still be hungry?"

"Not sure. But there's one thing I do know, and that's that Bueno Nacho is delicious."

"It is, but do you really need more food?"

"Think about it this way Kim, we both missed dinner, and I'm sure you don't want to go home and heat up whatever's there."

"Probably brainloaf…" Kim said with a shudder.

"Okay, that's the second time you've mentioned brainloaf. I want to know what it is."

"Don't ask."

"You said that last night too."

"You're right." Kim grinned. "I did."

Suddenly Ron grabbed Kim by her arms and turned her to face him, his face very serious.

"Kim, if you don't tell me what brainloaf is… you're going to be in big trouble when you get home."

Kim's lips curled into a smile and she erupted in laughter. Even four hours later it was still funny when they mocked Josh's "threat". The joke was made even funnier by the fact that Josh had actually gone and told his mother what had happened.

"Okay Ron." Kim said when she could stop laughing. "Brainloaf is basically meatloaf in the shape of a big human brain. I don't like meatloaf normally, but this just makes it even more gross."

Ron pictured in his head what such a meal must look like.

"Sounds awesome!" He exclaimed.

"Ugh… only a guy could think that. You and the Tweebs."

"What's a Tweeb?"

"My brothers. They're twins, and dweebs. Tweebs."

"Oh. Clever. I like it."

"Too bad they're harder to like."

"I'm sure they're not that bad."

"You have no idea. Try living with them."

"So then, Bueno Nacho? It beats microwaved brainloaf."

Kim knew she was defeated on the topic.

"Bueno Nacho it is."

"Booyah!"

With a new destination decided, the two began their short trek to the fast food restaurant.

"I love this town." Ron began. "Pretty much anywhere you want to go is within walking distance. The mall, theater, Bueno Nacho, school… wait forget I said school."

"Yeah, it's a pretty nice place to live." Kim agreed. "So what's it like in Go City? I know it's huge and all, but how is it different from here?"

Ron pondered the question for a few seconds.

"Well I didn't live downtown, I was in a suburb. So it wasn't too different from Middleton, but things were more spread out. And there was Team Go."

"Oh yeah… Hego." Kim remembered.

"That guy is kinda like a super hero version of Dr. Drakken. They're both incompetent and blue."

Kim laughed at the description provided by Ron as she thought about her own experiences with the large blue super hero.

"He's definitely… different." She said.

"But the thing I like about him is that his service and care at Bueno Nacho is first class. The guy took pride in whatever he did. And he actually made some good wraps."

"Well it's good that he did well in at least one of his jobs."

"I still can't believe that Shego is his sister. That's just weird."

"I know." Kim agreed. "How did they wind up taking such different paths?"

"Don't know. Think we should ask next time we see her?"

"Somehow I don't think she'd appreciate that."

"You're probably right."

A few minutes later the two arrived at Bueno Nacho. They sat down at a booth while they continued to discuss past and present members of Team Go. After looking over the menu, they got up and went to the counter to place their orders. After another couple of minutes their food was placed on their trays, and they went back and sat in their booth.

Kim ordered a taco and a salad, while Ron ordered two tacos and some nachos. Kim began eating while Ron stared at his food.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"Just thinking about something."

"What?"

"You're gonna think this is weird."

"I don't think you could do anything that would make me think you're weirder than I already do."

"Okay… here it goes."

Ron grabbed a handful of his nachos, complete with cheese, and placed them into his opened up taco. He then refolded the taco and examined his work.

"What… did you just do?" Kim wondered.

"I call it the Naco." Ron said proudly.

"And you're actually going to eat it?"

"Yup."

"Okay I was wrong. Definitely weirder."

Ron smiled as he took a bite of his invention. He chewed it cautiously while Kim watched in wonder.

"So how is it?" She asked.

Ron swallowed and gave a thumbs up.

"Awesome."

"Great. Now I'm curious."

"Try it. Use my nachos."

"I don't know…"

"You'll like it."

Kim hesitantly picked up a few of Ron's nachos and placed them in her own taco. She picked it up and whimpered a bit as she brought it closer to her mouth. Part of her wanted to try it, while the other was grossed out by the thought. She closed her eyes and took a bite of it and chewed it slowly. As she continued chewing she opened up her eyes and looked at the Naco surprisingly.

"This is actually pretty good." She admitted.

"I knew it!"

Both took another bite of their Nacos and chewed without hesitation. As the two continued chatting and eating their meals the manager Ned came up to their booth.

"Sorry guys, but I couldn't help but overhear what was going on. Is there something wrong with the food?"

"Oh no, nothing at all." Ron said reassuringly. "We're just trying out my new invention, the Naco."

"Naco? What's a Naco?" Ned wondered.

"Nachos inside a taco. It actually tastes good." Kim explained.

"Hmm… I see. Okay then, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't a problem with the food. Enjoy your meal, and have a muy bueno day."

"Back at ya Ned." Ron said.

With that, Ned walked off and went back behind the counter.

With all of the talk of Team Go, a thought entered Kim's mind. She had been going on missions for a while now, and with the exception of the occasional Global Justice assistance and the one time Ron accompanied her, she had been alone. One part of the missions that she didn't like was being alone while being flown to and from her destination. Having someone to have her back on missions would be nice. The thing is she never had anyone in her life to be such a partner. But Ron had proven his talents and abilities in his missions against and with her. Maybe now there was finally an opportunity.

"Ron, I have a question for you." She said.

"What's up?"

"You know how… you used to do missions for villains?"

"Yup."

"And… you know how I do missions for good guys?"

"Sounds familiar." He smiled.

"I was just thinking, seeing how we were talking about Team Go and all, what would you think about us being a team?"

"Like a crime fighting team?"

"Not like Team Go, more like what I do. Except both of us."

"Oh."

Ron was surprised to say the least. He knew that he would be doing missions with Kim for a few weeks to give the public the impression that they were partners to protect her image after his injury. But since he would no longer be working for villains, he just figured that when his time with Kim was over that he would just go and begin living a regular teen life. But now he had the chance to continue doing missions. Not just missions though, but being partners with the great Kim Possible.

He considered the situation he was in. He loved going on his old missions. They were such a thrill, they allowed him to travel, they gave him money. He also got to have all kinds of cool technological gadgets to aid him. But he knew that if he did missions with Kim that he would make no money. But perhaps money didn't matter anymore. Maybe the simple fact that he would be spending a lot of time with his new friend would be better than any money. A lot of time in cramped airplane cargo holds and small ventilation ducts, being close to-

"_No! I don't like her like that!" _He told his brain once more. _"…Do I?"_ He added as he experienced a moment of doubt.

"So what do you think?" Kim asked.

Ron was snapped out of his thoughts by Kim's words. He looked down at the table for a few moments before looking back up into Kim's eyes.

"I like it. Partner." He said warmly.

Kim smiled at the word "partner". Once he had used it back at the hospital in Seattle to get under her skin. Now he was using it as a term of friendship.

"So how will this work?" He asked.

"Well, I have my own kimmunicator to get calls from Wade. Do you still have your wrist thingy?"

"The one that plays MP3s?"

"That's the one."

"Yeah I have it."

"Okay, I'll get Wade to make it so you get all the calls I do. Then when he calls us with a mission we can both be ready and get picked up."

"Sounds good."

They continued eating as they discussed the details of what would happen when they received a mission. As they did, Kim thought about what had happened in her life in the past 24 hours. She had gone from crushing on Josh Mankey to becoming partners with Ron Stoppable. All of the things that had taken place in between amazed her. She had also discovered that she no longer felt sadness when she thought about Josh. Punching him had almost taken the weight of it all off her shoulders. Getting closer with Ron surely helped as well. She was beginning to think that her life was going to start getting a lot better from this point forward.


	18. Chapter 18

Authors Note: Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm happy you're enjoying this story so much.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.

XXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXX

Monday morning had arrived, and with it brought a plethora of emotions for Kim. She woke up not knowing what to expect when she arrived at school. The prior day she had further explained to her mother what had happened on her date with Josh. Initially she had planned on keeping it all a secret. The fact that it had happened at all embarrassed her greatly. It was just something she didn't want to talk about. But when she was questioned for why she had punched Josh at the mall she had to say something. And that something just happened to be the truth. She wasn't about to lie to her own mother.

Anne had called the Mankey residence and explained what had occurred on Friday night. To say that Josh's mother was shocked would be an understatement. She confronted her son and after a lengthy conversation confirmed that it was indeed true. Having never experienced such a situation, and not knowing how to respond to it, Mrs. Mankey decided that he would be grounded until he turned eighteen, and that he was no longer allowed to date a girl while he still lived under his parent's roof. He also lost any use of his parent's car with the exception being some kind of emergency. And of course, he would have to personally apologize to Kim.

Later that day Kim had called Ron and told him everything. He was uncharacteristically quiet during most of the conversation. The whole thing made him a bit uncomfortable, but he was determined to be there for his new friend. It was decided that the two would begin walking to school together every morning.

Kim stood outside her house waiting for Ron's arrival. It was a beautiful mid-April day with barely a cloud in the sky. The temperature was pleasant and the sun dazzled in the sky. She took a deep breath, taking in all the scents that spring had to offer. For a moment she completely forgot about school. After a couple more minutes of waiting she saw Ron appear down the sidewalk.

"Yo Kim." He greeted as he got close to her.

"Hey Ron." She responded.

"Ready for another week of boring classes and pointless homework?"

"Come on Ron, it's not that bad."

"Not that bad? How could you say such a thing?"

"Because I actually like to learn."

"Maybe you can learn for both of us." He suggested.

"I'm not doing your work for you."

"Says the girl who did 95% of the D-Day project." He smirked.

"Those were totally different circumstances. Back then I just wanted you out of my life."

"And now?"

"Now I'm glad I met you all those weeks ago." She smiled.

"Same here KP."

The two continued standing in front of Kim's house a little longer before Ron realized something.

"Uh, Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I'm the last person who would suggest we go to school, but shouldn't we start walking?"

"Oh." Kim said as she realized they hadn't moved yet. "Yeah, I guess we should."

Ron began walking, but stopped a few steps when he realized that Kim wasn't with him. He turned back to see Kim standing in the same spot.

"Kim?"

"What?"

"Walking requires, you know, walking?"

"Oh. Yeah." She said meekly.

She moved next to Ron before the two began walking toward Middleton High School.

"What was that?" He asked.

"What was what?"

"You didn't move. What's up?"

"Nothing." She said as she turned her head to look away from Ron.

"You're a terrible liar and you know it. And the not looking at me part gives it away even more. Come on, what's going on?"

"I'm just… kinda afraid is all."

"Afraid of what?"

"School."

"Aha! See, I told you. School is terrible. Definitely something to be afraid of. All those tests and quizzes and homework and-"

"No." Kim said cutting him off. "Not that kind of school stuff."

"What kind then?"

"What if… people look at me differently?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like… if they know about Josh and me. What if everyone knows what happened?"

"So what if they do? You didn't do anything wrong."

"But-"

"No buts Kim. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Only he does."

"But what if-"

"Read my lips. No buts."

Kim burst out laughing at this. Ron looked at her and was clearly confused.

"Uh, what's so funny?" He asked.

Kim stopped laughing a moment later, but she couldn't remove the grin that was plastered on her face.

"Just… nothing it's stupid."

"Come on, I'm all about stupid."

"It's just… I thought you said to read your lips, not your butt." She said as she giggled a bit. "Oh wow I can't believe I actually thought that was funny." She added with a gasp. "I must not have gotten enough sleep last night."

Ron chuckled a bit and shook his head.

"Kim, I think you've been spending way too much time with me lately."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

Ron's heart skipped a beat at these words. It took a few seconds for his mind to come up with a response.

"Uh… I mean, um, I wouldn't want my laziness rubbing off on you or anything."

"_So what _would_ you like to rub on her?"_ His mind asked him.

"_Shut up!" _He told it.

"I wouldn't worry about that." She told him.

Ron shook his head clear of his thoughts and was determined to get back to the previous topic.

"Look Kim, whatever happens today at school we go through together. I'll be there to support you."

"Thanks Ron."

"I pity the fool who tries to make you feel bad." He said in a bad Mr. T impression before returning to his normal voice. "Besides, I'm sure no one knows anything. I mean, that's not exactly something that Josh would go around bragging about. If anything it would just make him a social outcast."

Kim blinked a few times as she thought about what Ron had just said. It made so much sense. Why hadn't she thought of it before? Of course this wasn't good for Josh. No one would respect a guy who tried to force himself on his girlfriend. In all of her embarrassment and shame, Kim had never even realized that she was a victim. She never realized that the truth would hurt Josh more than her. She never realized that she had no reason to feel bad. Her pride had gotten in the way of it all. It had taken Ron's perspective to show her the truth.

"Ron?" She said as she stopped, prompting him to stop as well.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." She said as she embraced him in a warm hug.

Ron returned the tight hug with his friend. It lasted for a few seconds before the two came apart and looked each other in the eyes.

"I really needed to hear that." She told him. "I… I never even thought about it the way you did."

"No problem." He smiled.

"I can't believe it. I'm not really nervous anymore. It's just like… wow."

"Glad I could help."

Kim checked her watch and realized that they were running a bit late.

"We have to hurry. Don't want to be tardy and be stuck in detention with Mr. Barkin." She said.

"Sure don't."

The two teens picked up their pace a bit and continued on their way to school. Kim was almost eager to get there now, but couldn't explain why. Turning her head a bit to see Ron, she concluded that he must have something to do with it.

XXXXXXXXXX

After the two had arrived at school they had to split up in order to go to their lockers. They would see each other again during the day as they had a few classes as well as lunch together. But for now Kim was alone. Not truly alone, just Ronless. It was a feeling that was completely new to her. Up until a few days ago she had had nothing but disdain for the boy. The disdain had later changed to a sort of friendly indifference after they had worked on their history project together and he had saved her from Monkey Fist.

But that had all changed on Friday night when the foundations of friendship had been laid down, and then built upon with blazing speed. Over the course of the weekend they had developed a close friendship and had spent countless hours alone together. To suddenly not be with him felt weird.

She stood next to her locker getting the books and belongings she would need for her upcoming classes when a figure came up behind her.

"Kim." The female voice said to her.

She turned around to see Bonnie standing behind her, and she did not look pleased.

"What do you want?" Kim asked.

"I can't believe what you did to Josh."

Kim opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words to express her disbelief in what she had just heard.

"Don't give me that look. You know exactly what you did." Bonnie continued.

"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" Kim asked.

"Thanks to you I have to dump Josh. He has no car, no money, can't date anyone, and is grounded for who knows how many months. I don't know what happened between you two, but I'm sure it's all your fault."

Kim struggled to make sense of what Bonnie was saying. Was she actually blaming her for what had happened to Josh?

"And then there was what happened at the mall. You made him look like a complete pussy. His social standing has plummeted to sub-pink sloth levels. No one respects him anymore. Now people just call him 'the weird art kid'."

"Bonnie… do you have any idea what happened on our date?" Kim asked.

"No. All I know is that you were supposed to get what you've been wanting for months now."

"What have I wanted for months?"

"You were supposed to finally screw him. Everyone knows you've been wanting to for a long time now. And he was supposed to record it and make a sex tape."

Kim couldn't believe what she had just heard. It was all a plan? A plan devised by Josh and Bonnie? All this time they had wanted to make a Kim Possible sex tape. This latest development shocked and appalled her. But as she thought about it more another thought entered her mind.

"Bonnie." She said in a serious tone. "You thought that I was just going to give it up for Josh that night? That I would have no problem having sex with him?"

"Well yeah." Bonnie admitted. "We both thought you would jump at the chance to do it with him."

"Bonnie… I'm not like that. I never had any intention of sleeping with Josh that night. Do you want to know what happened?"

"What?"

"He tried to… do it." Kim said uneasily. "I told him to stop. I said 'no'. But he wouldn't listen. He just kept trying to force himself on me."

Bonnie's eyes got a bit wider at this news. That had not been part of the plan at all. While she despised Kim, she was also a woman. She would never resort to such tactics or methods to ruin her. She assumed that Kim would have no problem letting Josh into her pants. The thought that Josh had actually tried to force it and that she was partially responsible sickened her.

"Kim…" Bonnie began, almost at a loss for words. "That… that wasn't what was supposed to happen at all. You were supposed to want it. I'm so sorry. That was never-"

"Save it Bonnie." Kim cut her off. "We can talk about this another time when I'm not tempted to smash your face into a locker. Get out of my sight right now."

Bonnie nodded quickly a few times and rushed off to get to class. Kim stood there in a daze. It had been a plan. A plan gone wrong, but a plan none the less. She walked to her first class seemingly on auto-pilot, ignoring everything that was going on around her.

XXXXXXXXXX

When it was time for lunch, Ron joined Kim and Monique at the girl's usual table. It felt nice to have a place to belong. The trio shared a couple of classes prior to lunch, including Kim and Ron being in history together, but they had had no real chance to talk until now. Lunch was a time for socializing and fun just as much as it was a time for eating. They wasted little time.

"Kim, what happened between you and Josh?" Monique asked. "I've been hearing things all day. How is he suddenly at the bottom of the food chain?"

Kim thought about the new information that Bonnie had revealed to her. It also revealed what she didn't know. It was obvious that Bonnie had no idea about what Josh had tried to do on their date. And that meant that it was highly unlikely that anyone else knew either. Kim decided that it would be a good idea to tell Monique and Ron the whole story.

"Well… you see-"

Kim was cut off when the cafeteria erupted in shouts and gasps. The three turned their heads and saw that Bonnie was standing next to Josh, who was sitting by himself at a table. He was holding a hand to his cheek, and the three concluded that he had just received a vicious slap from Bonnie.

"No means no!" Bonnie yelled angrily at him. She brought up her other hand and slapped him on the other side of his face just as hard.

Once more the students roared in response to Bonnie's actions.

"You're such a loser!" Bonnie screamed before looking around the room to find that everyone's attention was focused on her. "We are so over!"

The students began laughing at Josh once more, who just sat there in shameful silence. No one knew why Bonnie had done what she just did. But it was obvious that one of the most popular girls in school thought that Josh was a loser. And thus they concluded that he must be one.

After Bonnie had stormed off, Kim, Ron, and Monique turned back to face each other.

"Wow." Monique said. "Now that I wasn't expecting."

"Yeah." Ron agreed. "What was that all about?"

Kim knew.

"Well guys… turns out that there's more to the whole date thing than I thought."

Monique was confused.

"What date thing? What happened on Friday? You never told me the details."

"Monique… this isn't easy to say, even when I know that it wasn't my fault." Kim began. "But that night, Josh tried to have sex with me. He kept trying even after I told him to stop."

Monique gasped as her eyes went wide at this news.

"Are you okay?" She asked her friend.

"I wasn't before." Kim said before she turned to look at Ron. "But I am now."

"He actually tried to… wow." Was all Monique could say.

"Yeah, and that's not even whole story."

"There's more?"

"Yeah. Turns out that he and Bonnie wanted to record us having sex and make a tape of it. They were probably going to put it on the internet."

Both Monique and Ron were shocked at this information. Both were speechless as Kim continued.

"But… Bonnie didn't know about what he did. She thought I would want to do it with him. Him forcing himself on me was never part of her plan."

"I guess that's what the slaps were about." Monique concluded. "But that still doesn't make any of it right. They both deserve an ass kicking."

"I got my shot in on Josh at the mall on Saturday." Kim smirked a bit.

"Oh yeah I heard about that. I heard you made him look like a total wuss."

"He told his mom too." Ron added.

Monique laughed at that.

"Wow. Bonnie wasn't lying. That boy is a huge loser."

"Sure is." Ron agreed.

"Yeah. I'm just glad that I'm not hiding this anymore." Kim began. "I'm glad I know the truth about it all. And I'm glad you two know too."

Her two friends smiled at her.

"We're here for you, Kim." Monique told her.

"Yo KP, we got your back." Ron added.

"Thanks guys."

The trio continued eating their lunches as they switched to a different subject. Now that everything was out in the open between them there wasn't much more to say. Kim no longer felt bad about what had happened to her on Friday night. She knew that she had no reason to feel bad. She was finally at peace with it. But she wanted to have words with Bonnie another time. For now though she would just enjoy the company of her two friends.

Ron took his fork and picked up a piece of mystery meat and put it in his mouth. He chewed uneasily on it for a few seconds before forcing himself to swallow it. He grimaced and gagged at the same time while he stuck his tongue out. As he did his eyes were drawn to Mr. Barkin who was walking through the cafeteria past their table. Mr. Barkin noticed Ron as well.

"Stoppable. What was that look you just gave me?" He asked.

"What?" Ron asked. "What look?"

Mr. Barkin grunted softly as he turned and continued to wherever his destination was.

"Weird." Monique commented.

"What was that about?" Kim wondered.

"Don't know." Ron said. "But I'm not too worried. The guy likes me after all."

The three shrugged off the incident and went back to their eating their food. Or at least they attempted to. They ended up just poking at their mystery meat for the rest of lunch while eating the more eatable portions of their meals.

XXXXXXXXXX

After school Kim and Ron had decided to hang out at her house. It would also give them an opportunity to talk with her mother about how and why exactly they had become friends. Since Anne had seen them together on Saturday she had been curious as to why they were spending time together voluntarily. She would be working until the early evening so it gave the two teens a few hours of alone time. Alone time plus Kim's brothers, that is.

The four of them were sitting in the living room watching TV. It was the first time Jim and Tim had met Ron. They were equally as curious as their mother about who he was and why he was with Kim. But without knowing the villainous back-story of the young man they had little reason to dislike or distrust him. In fact, they quickly grew to like him. Not only did he like professional wrestling, but he also carried a rodent in his pocket. For the young twins this was beyond cool.

"Does he do tricks?" Jim asked.

"Does he obey you when you tell him to do stuff?" Tim added.

Rufus was loving all of the attention he was getting. He did a number of things that no ordinary rodent was supposed to do that impressed the boys even more. When he started to respond and react like a human would to certain things, they began to wonder if he was a sentient being.

Kim's brothers had been with them for hours now talking to Ron and Rufus. She didn't know whether to feel annoyed that they were there, or be happy that they were getting along so well with Ron. She supposed it was a good thing that they weren't trying to do anything to humiliate her.

"Coolest pet ever." The twins concluded.

"I guess you're not so disgusting after all." Kim told Rufus. "But you're not getting in my pants anymore."

Of course Kim didn't realize that her mother had come home and walked into the room precisely at the moment that Kim had spoken to Rufus. She cleared her throat and eyed Kim suspiciously. Obviously she had no idea that her daughter had been talking to the naked mole rat.

"Mom it's not…" She said before sighing. "I was talking to Rufus."

Ron started laughing at the expressions on the faces of the two redheads. Jim and Tim looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. Rufus was equally as confused at the situation.

"Only when you're around…" Kim said to Ron with a sigh. "How many times is this going to happen?"

"This is the third time by my count." Ron giggled.

"Why can't people ever _not_ take things the wrong way?"

"Because you make it so easy for them to do it."

Anne walked into the room before turning to her sons.

"Jim, Tim, could I have a few minutes alone with Kim and Ronald?" She asked.

The twins did as they were asked and got up and left. Anne sat down on the couch next to her daughter ready to ask a few questions.

"So… Kim, Ron." She paused before turning to Ron. "Can I call you Ron?" She asked.

"Absolutely Mrs. Dr. Possible."

"Okay. I'm just curious, why are you two suddenly such good friends? From everything I know you two were fighting each other on missions."

"It's a long story mom." Kim told her.

"I've got time."

For the next twenty minutes Kim explained in detail the events of the past several weeks. She described how they had gone from enemies to friends, and just how much they enjoyed their time together. For Kim, he was a loyal and caring friend who was there to have her back when she needed help. For Ron, she was these things for him as well, and in addition was a positive influence who had helped turn his life around. He no longer worked for villains. Now he fought against them. And of course, neither could deny the fact that they felt very open and comfortable around the other. The bond they shared had been forged in only a few weeks, where with any other person it would have taken years.

Anne listened intently to every word. In the end she believed what her daughter and Ron were saying was true. It would take time, but she said she would try to learn to trust Ron as much as Kim did. The pair of teens were satisfied with this, as they couldn't expect Anne to change her opinions about Ron overnight.

"Well I'm happy you two won't be sending each other to the hospital anymore." Anne concluded.

As Kim and Ron nodded in agreement the TV's signal was interrupted for a few seconds. When it came back what they saw on it surprised them to say the least.

"Good evening world." Dr. Drakken said as his face appeared on the screen.

"Wow. We haven't seen him in a while." Ron commented.

"I have a message for all of the nation's governments." He continued. "For the past several weeks I have been perfecting a brand new invention of mine using a stolen laser, which I have modified and enhanced. That laser has been successfully launched into orbit around the Earth, and is now prepared to devastate any city on the planet at the press of a button."

"You think he saw the movie too?" Ron wondered as he thought back to Saturday night.

"Now, if the world does not give into my demands you all shall feel the wrath of my Death Star!" He said triumphantly.

"Lame and unoriginal." A feminine voice said in the background on the TV.

Drakken turned and looked off screen at the source of the voice.

"Shego I'm trying to address the world here!" He griped. "Can you please not interrupt?"

"Come up with a better name then. It's already been done. Twice."

"Look, I'm not about to start brainstorming on live world-wide television. I'm trying to make my evil demands!"

"What about, 'The Big Laser Ball'." Shego said mockingly.

"That has got to be the worst suggestion I've ever heard. It's like you're not even trying!" He said as he began to sound more and more annoyed. "Oh I get it. You're trying to make me upset. Well I hate to burst your bubble-"

"You're still on TV Dr. D." She pointed out.

Drakken turned back to face the camera. His face showed a mixture of embarrassment and frustration as he continued.

"Anyway, the world will bow to me as its new ruler, or I shall destroy a major city every thirty minutes. You have one hour to comply. And don't bother sending any military planes to attack me. I'll be watching."

With that, his face disappeared from the screen. After a few seconds the normal programming returned as Kim and Ron merely stared at the TV. They turned to look at each other before the sound of the kimmunicator went off. Kim grabbed it off the table and turned it on.

"Go Wade."

"Did you see that?" He asked her.

"Yup. What's the plan?"

"I got a lock on Drakken's lair. He's recently moved to one in the Caribbean. I've already got a G.J. hover jet on the way to your house. After that you can pick up Ron and get going."

"Already here dude." Ron said.

"Okay good. You guys have about five minutes to get ready. We'll talk more when you're flying to Drakken's lair."

Kim and Ron both stood after Wade ended the communication.

"Gotta change into my mission clothes." Kim told him as she started toward her room.

"I don't have any here." Ron told her.

Kim frowned and realized he was right. He was wearing khaki cargo pants rather than the black ones he usually wore on missions. It would just have to do.

"I don't think you'll fit into my outfit." She smiled at him.

"Yeah, I knew I shouldn't have eaten all those gummy worms. Now I'll never fit into a size 2."

Kim laughed at this.

"Well, at least you're wearing a black t-shirt. I've got an extra pair of gloves you can use. And another hair dryer grappling gun."

"Sounds good."

Kim ran off to her room to change. Ron sat back down next to Anne and waited. She turned to him with a serious look on her face.

"Just… be careful out there Ron. Don't let anything happen to my daughter."

Ron took a deep breath before he smiled at her warmly.

"No worries Mrs. Dr. P. I won't let anything hurt her."


	19. Chapter 19

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who's still reading and enjoying this story. I'm happy so many people like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.

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Wade had been right. It didn't take very long at all for the Global Justice hover jet to arrive at Kim's house. She had gotten herself ready with a few minutes to spare however, as she knew that they didn't have a moment to spare. She had brought down a spare pair of gloves for Ron to wear along with another grappling hook gun.

Ron was clad in his street clothes that he had been wearing since he woke up. These weren't what he would call his mission clothes, but they were close enough. At least that's what Kim told him. Still though, he would miss the feeling of wearing his steel toe black boots. His sneakers would have to do this time. When he saw Kim reenter the living room he stood up and Rufus jumped into one of his cargo pockets. She handed him a pair of her black leather mission gloves. He looked at them skeptically.

"Uh Kim?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"These look kind of small."

"They'll stretch." She told him.

"If you say so…"

Ron proceeded to take one and stick his fingers inside. After getting up to the middle of his hand he realized that the glove was stuck and refused to go any further.

"It won't fit." He said as he continued struggling.

"Here let me see." She said as she moved next to him and grabbed his hand.

Kim gripped the glove with both of her hands and used all of her might to try to get it to fit on his hand. Slowly but surely, and inch by inch, the glove stretched and covered up his hand. Smiles crossed both of their faces as they moved to put the other one on. But before that Ron wanted to flex his fingers to get a good feel for the glove. That was when a problem occurred.

"I can't move my fingers…"

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"It's too tight. I can't even bend my fingers because of the leather."

"Oh." Kim said. "Yeah that sounds like it could be a problem."

She was about to try to pry the glove off when her kimmunicator began beeping. She turned it on to see Wade's face once more.

"What's up Wade?" She greeted.

"They're here. Front yard." Was all he said before the screen went blank.

She turned to Ron, who was struggling to get the glove off his hand.

"Game time Ron. Let's go."

"Hey wait! What about-"

"No time for that. Do it while we're en route."

With that the two teens ran outside to the waiting hover jet. They jumped aboard quickly and the pilot wasted no time taking off.

The jet was small but still had a good amount of space inside. The pilot's chair and controls were at the front, and behind the seat there was enough room to fix about six people comfortably. There were no seats for the passengers, just benches against both of the jet's side walls that sat three people each. The back wall was a ramp that could be lowered, and was how people entered and exited the vehicle.

Kim called Wade back so she could get the details on the upcoming mission. Ron just continued to struggle with his glove. He had no idea how she had managed to get it on him, but it apparently didn't want to come off now.

"So Wade, what can you tell me about this latest sitch?" Kim asked her tech guru.

"Details about his weapon are sketchy at the moment. All we really know is what he told us when he broadcasted his demands on TV."

"So it's basically a Star Wars rip off?"

"Pretty much."

"Great. Where are the tweebs when you need them?" She sighed.

"Not much of a Star Wars fan are you Kim?" Ron asked.

"No. I'm so not into sci fi."

"Kim, don't call it sci fi!" Wade chastised her. "That denigrates the genre, and it sickens me."

"You tell her buddy!" Ron added.

"Moving on…" Kim said.

"I wonder if it has some sort of major design flaw like in the movie."

"Since Drakken built it, he's probably the flaw." Wade smirked.

"Too bad we don't have any proton torpedoes."

"Or an X-Wing."

"Can we please get back to the mission?" Kim interrupted.

"Sorry." Wade said sheepishly. "Since he's monitoring the sky above his lair you two will need to be dropped off a bit from the coast and then swim the rest of the way."

"Swim?" Ron wondered. "I don't exactly like the idea of jumping out of a plane into the ocean."

"You won't be. The hover jet is going to skim the water and you two will jump out in scuba suits. You shouldn't be more than ten feet off of the surface."

"Oh."

"Another reason is that you will need to fly very close to the water so it lessens the chances of Drakken's radar detecting you."

"So what you're saying is that we'll be flying under the radar?" Ron said as he began to laugh a little.

Kim and Wade were silent, with Kim just looking at him a bit weirdly.

"You know, flying under the radar? Like the expression? Get it?" Ron sighed as he realized that his brilliant humor had gone unnoticed. "Nevermind."

Kim turned back to Wade's face on the screen.

"Sounds like a good plan. But where's the scuba gear?" She asked.

"Should be onboard already. Check to see if there are any boxes or packages next to you."

The two teens turned and saw that there were indeed a couple of packages occupying some of the space that would normally seat more people. Kim reached over and opened one up revealing the necessary gear.

"Looks like it's all here." She told him.

"Good. I'll let you guys put those on. Call me before you jump."

"Will do."

The screen turned blank once more and Kim put the device back in her pocket. She turned to Ron who was still grappling with his glove.

"How is that thing still on?" She asked bemusedly.

"I don't know…" Ron whined a bit.

"I can't use my laser lipstick on it. That would cut straight through your hand."

"Yeah that doesn't sound too fun."

"Too bad we don't have anything else to cut it. I guess if you can't get it off you'll just have to adapt."

An idea suddenly came to Ron's mind. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his rodent companion.

"Yo Rufus, I have a job for you." He told the naked mole rat.

Ron held up his gloved hand to Rufus, who nodded in acknowledgement. The tiny animal climbed over to Ron's right wrist and opened his mouth wide.

"There's no way this is going to work…" Kim said in disbelief.

She watched in wonder as Rufus chomped through the leather. After a few seconds he had created a large tear in it that was good enough for Ron to finish off himself. After setting Rufus down next to him, Ron grabbed hold of the ripped portion of the glove and continued until it was almost torn in half. After this he was easily able to pull it off of his sweaty hand.

"Good job Rufus." He said as he pat the rodent on his head.

Rufus chattered something that Kim couldn't understand, but apparently Ron could. It was just another strange thing about the boy that she was getting used to.

"Wow. I'm actually really impressed." Kim admitted.

"Yup, Rufus is good for all kinds of things. But I'm sure you already know that." He smiled at her.

Kim merely gave Ron a dirty look as it was clear that she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"But hey that's all in the past now right?" He asked her. "I mean you're not going to try to get back at me for that someday, will you?"

A sly grin crossed Kim's face as she answered cryptically.

"Who knows."

Ron and Rufus looked at each other with a bit of unease on both of their faces.

XXXXXXXXXX

The amazing speeds that the Global Justice hover jet was capable of brought the two teens to their drop off point with about ten minutes before Dr. Drakken's deadline. They had their scuba gear on and ready to go. It was decided however that Rufus would be staying behind because he couldn't be in Ron's pocket while he was clad in a full scuba suit. For this mission it would be just two humans who would be attempting to stop Drakken's latest plot.

After making contact with Wade and getting some final details, Kim and Ron jumped out of the back of the hover jet and into the warm Caribbean water. After they had swum away from the jet, it turned and began flying away from the lair. The pilot didn't want to take any chances of being spotted either visually or by radar. When the mission was over Kim was to contact Wade who would then contact the pilot and pick them up on the island.

Wearing wetsuits, air tanks, and massive flippers, the two teen heroes were able to swiftly reach the coast of the small island lair. After getting ashore they removed the equipment and Kim checked her kimmunicator for the time. They had only five minutes until Drakken would begin firing on cities. She knew that the world would never give into his demands. It was up to her and Ron now.

They jogged up to the large building and were confident that no one would see them. While it wasn't completely dark yet, there wasn't nearly enough light for someone to be able to spot them without the aid of search lights or some other kind of device. And seeing how there were no lights on the outside of the lair, they were able to make it to the walls easily.

Ron turned to Kim, who was busy reaching into one of her pockets.

"So how are we getting inside?" He asked.

Kim found what she was looking for and turned to him.

"The same way as always." She told him as she brought her grappling gun up for him to see. "We make one."

Ron instantly knew what she meant and grabbed for his own device. The two aimed up at the roof and fired their hooks. After making sure that the connections were secure they were pulled up toward the roof. A few exhilarating seconds later they were standing on top of the lair.

"That was awesome!" Ron exclaimed. "Can we do it again?"

"Later. Right now we have work to do."

"Oh yeah. Work. I was having so much fun I almost forgot."

Kim looked at him with a serious expression on her face.

"Now's not the time to forget, Ron. We have a mission to do." She said as she reached for her laser lipstick and knelt down to begin cutting a hole in the large ventilation duct on the roof.

At these words Ron's face turned serious as well. He had to remember that this wasn't a game. This wasn't one of the missions he used to go on to steal some little device or document. This was important. He had to focus. He had to keep his head in the game. He had to-

"_Cute butt."_ His mind said as he realized he was staring at Kim while she was working.

He shook his head clear of the thought and walked up next to her. She was nearly finished making a hole big enough for them to fit inside.

"So that's our way in?" He asked.

"Yup."

Ron took a step back and continued watching Kim work. After a few more seconds she was done.

"Ready." She announced.

"Okay. Ladies first."

Kim stood up and looked at Ron with a smirk on her face.

"You're too kind." She said sarcastically. "Or maybe just too scared to go first."

"Oh yeah? Fine, I'm going in first." He countered.

"Too late."

Kim jumped into the hole immediately after. Ron stood for a moment in stunned disbelief before he too ran and jumped into the ventilation shaft.

XXXXXXXXXX

Dr. Drakken was pacing impatiently in the central room of his lair. Every few seconds he would turn his head to gaze at the large screen on the wall. He was furious that no one had contacted him yet and declared him the ruler of the world. He stopped and clenched his tiny hands.

"Why haven't they called yet!" He bellowed.

Shego was sitting at the table in the middle of the room with her legs resting on it. She had a magazine in her hands which was clearly more of a priority than what Drakken was doing.

"They have time." She said without looking up.

Drakken checked his watch.

"They have less than two minutes!"

"Maybe they're waiting until the countdown gets to one second. You know that's how it is in all the movies and TV shows."

He looked at her with hope-filled eyes.

"You really think that's what's going to happen?" He asked softly.

"No." She replied flatly.

Drakken growled angrily.

"Not helping Shego!"

"That's what they're here for." She said as she pointed to a group of red-clad henchmen on the other side of the room.

Drakken stomped over to the three large men.

"You think I'll be made the leader of the world, don't you?"

The three henchmen looked at each other and then back at their boss.

"You are a good leader, and people say good things about you." One told him.

"You're good enough, smart enough, and people like you." Another added.

"My legs hurt." The third said.

Drakken's right eye began to twitch as his rage only grew. In the background he heard the laughter of his green-hued sidekick. He walked back toward the table with his eyes set on her every step of the way.

"Does this amuse you?" He asked.

"It really does."

He was about to say something back to her when he heard the ventilation grate crash down from the ceiling. The five people in the room turned and looked up to see two figures jump down from the hole in the ceiling.

Kim landed in a crouch, graceful as always. She straightened herself and flipped her hair back out of her face, a small smile on her lips.

Ron landed a few seconds later in a similar position. Though it was not as fluid or good looking as Kim's entrance, it maintained the surprise and awe that the sudden appearance had created.

"Kim Possible!" Drakken shouted in disbelief.

"Sorry Drakken, but I'm about to…" Kim said before stopping and turning to Ron. "What was the rest of it?" She whispered to him.

"Go Red-5 on your ass." Ron whispered to her.

"I still don't think they'll have any idea what we're talking about."

"Yeah but if they do it will be totally worth it."

Drakken cleared his throat.

"Excuse me? Supervillain about to devastate major cities here."

Kim turned back to face the mad scientist.

"Right. No time for talking. Ron, you take the henchmen. Shego's mine."

"Got it." He confirmed.

Drakken turned to look at Ron. A look of confusion passed over his face.

"Who is he?" He asked to no one in particular.

"You're kidding right?" Ron said in complete frustration. "You used to hire me. Ron? Ron Stoppable?"

The look on Drakken's face indicated he was in deep thought. After a few seconds he turned his attention back to Ron.

"I think I would remember a name as ridiculous as that." He said.

"Oh come on!"

"Well now since the introductions are over, what do you say we get on with the fighting?" Shego said as she walked to stand by Drakken's side.

"Sounds good to me." Kim grinned.

Shego rushed Kim with ignited hands. She lashed out with rights and lefts, each of these being evaded as Kim dodged and hopped at every swing. Finally the villainess was able to connect a blow, but it was caught by both of Kim's hands. The teen gripped the gloved fist tight and kicked into the midsection of the woman. Shego stumbled back a few steps, but this did nothing to discourage her aggression for her opponent.

She ran forward once more, her attacks even more intense than before. This time Kim could do little to avoid them and instead focused on blocking the strikes with her own forearms. Now that Kim was busy trying to block her fists, Shego decided to alter her strategy. Rather than trying to land a blow on Kim, she instead grabbed hold of Kim's wrists and pulled her close. She then sent a fierce head-butt into Kim's nose. The teen wanted to break away, but Shego still had firm control of her wrists. This was followed up by a knee driven into the gut of Kim. Only when the heroine doubled over in pain did Shego release her. With a couple feet of separation between them, Shego lashed out with an uppercut at Kim's jaw which sent her back a few feet.

Kim brought a hand up to her face and looked at it, seeing a crimson substance on her fingers. Eyes narrowed and teeth barred, the redhead clenched her fists and headed back into combat.

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Ron's eyes darted back and forth as he saw the three large men approaching him. One man of this stature wouldn't have been a problem for him. He knew martial arts well enough. Two would have been a stretch. But three at the same time? Ron hoped there was a reason that Kim had trusted him with this task, because he sure didn't trust himself.

"Hey, how about we go one on one." He suggested. "You know, an honorable match like the kind Steel Toe has?"

The three henchmen laughed.

"Pain King destroys Steel Toe." One of them said as he cracked his knuckles.

Ron felt a surge of anger flow through him. How dare they insult his favorite wrestler.

"You take that back!"

"Make me."

Ron brought up his fists as the lumbering man neared him. The henchman lashed out with a clumsy fist which Ron was able to duck. It was followed by another which the teen grabbed hold of with his hands. Ron took the opportunity to bring his feet into the equation. Kicking as hard as he could, he connected squarely with the man's crotch.

The henchman went down hard and fast as he clutched the affected area. He lay squirming on the floor as the other two of Drakken's men looked down at him, and then back at Ron.

"Hey! I thought you said you wanted an honorable match!" He shouted.

Ron couldn't stifle a small laugh at the man's reaction.

"Yeah, well… I'm kind of a liar."

Hearing this, the two men both rushed at Ron. A flurry of fists rained down upon the blonde as he struggled to deflect and dodge them. So far he was doing an admirable job of it. He wondered if he had somehow gotten better at martial arts over the past few weeks.

One of the men took a few steps back before running at Ron with his fist raised. When he neared Ron he preparing to bring his fist down onto the boy's skull. But Ron had seen him out of the corner of his eye, and instead grabbed hold of the fist and flipped the man over his back using his own momentum against him. The henchman landed hard on his back and was slow to get to his feet. But this distracted Ron for a moment too long as he felt a powerful blow connect with his face. Ron fell to the floor and held his cheek as he looked up at the third of Drakken's men. The man grinned triumphantly as Ron slowly stood. He readied himself once more and charged back in.

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Kim didn't fight at her best when she was angry. Normally her attacks were well thought out and her plan was solid. But when she became angry these things went out the window. Right now her swings were fueled by rage rather than strategy. It was the reason she was struggling so much to land a hit on Shego. Normally the roles were reversed and Shego was the one attacking out of emotion. But for the moment the older woman was letting Kim expend her energy, and was able to land a few good hits here and there.

A punch to the jaw and a kick to the hip sent Kim stumbling back once more. Her breathing was heavy and beads of sweat were slowly making their way down her face. When she looked up at Shego once more the villainess couldn't help but laugh.

"You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?" She asked.

Kim took a moment to collect herself and focus on the task at hand. She took a deep breath before responding.

"You know, for a second, yeah. I kind of did." She said nonchalantly. "I mean, I don't think you've ever won a single one of our fights."

Shego scowled and took a step forward.

"Forget the past Kimmie." She said angrily. "You're not winning today."

Kim laughed a bit.

"Come on Shego. Don't you know that if you don't learn from history you're doomed to repeat it?"

"When I'm done with you, you'll be history!"

It had taken a while but Kim was finally back on her game plan. The agitated villainess resumed the fighting by recklessly charging Kim, eager to prove her wrong. Taking advantage of their history together as well as knowing Shego's personality was all Kim needed to begin turning the fight around. When it came to a war of words Kim was sure that she would always win that. And that victory carried over into the physical fight.

As Shego rushed Kim, the teen went to the ground and used her legs to sweep the green woman's feet from under her. Shego fell backwards at this sudden attack and landed hard on her back. Kim was on her immediately and landed a solid punch to her face. She repeated the strikes, but now Shego was able to get her arms up to block the majority of the fists. After a few seconds she was able to force Kim off of her.

Quickly getting to her feet, Shego snarled as she once more charged Kim. She swung a massive right fist at Kim, who ducked under the attack at the last possible second. When Shego's momentum brought her side by side with Kim, the teen wrapped her right arm around the back of Shego's neck. Kim then kicked at the side of her opponent's legs, causing them to buckle. In one swift motion Kim fell backwards, bringing Shego down with her. Shego's head impacted hard on the floor rendering her unconscious.

The victorious heroine stood up and admired her work. Shego wasn't getting up anytime soon.

"Nice Kim!" A voice behind her said.

Kim turned to see Ron standing a few feet behind her with a smile on his face. He walked up next to her and looked down at Shego.

"And you said you didn't like wrestling." He commented.

"I don't."

"Then how did you pretty much just do a textbook DDT?"

"Like the pesticide?" Kim asked.

Ron laughed at her question.

"Nevermind." He smiled. "Great job with Shego."

Kim looked behind Ron to see the unmoving bodies of the three henchmen he had been fighting.

"You too Ron. I gotta say, I'm impressed at how you did."

"Yeah me too." He agreed. "But to be fair I did only have to fight two of them."

"What about the third?"

"Low blow."

"What?"

"More wrestling stuff. You really should watch it more."

"Unlikely."

"We'll see."

As he looked at her he couldn't help but continue to smile. She was just so incredible. She was so smart, so fun, so skilled… so beautiful.

"_Okay… I'm totally crushing on Kim Possible."_ He finally admitted to himself.

The two turned to see Dr. Drakken standing near the control panel. Having just witnessed Shego and his henchmen lose the fight, he was busy typing and pressing buttons. A chilling thought entered Kim's mind.

"He's going to fire the laser!" She yelled.

"Not on my watch." Ron replied.

He reached into his pocket and gripped his grappling gun once more. Holding it in both hands, he aimed it at the center of Drakken's back. He fired.

Unfortunately his aim was not true, and the hook crashed into the huge screen that was above the control panel. Sparks began flying out of the hole the hook had created which distracted Drakken for a moment. A moment was all that Kim needed.

She ran forward and tackled the blue scientist to the floor. She got up and stood over the fallen villain. Knowing that there was nothing he could do now, the man groaned.

"This isn't over Kim Possible!" He yelled.

"It's so over." She told him.

Ron came over and stood next to her and looked down at Drakken.

"Dude, you're the most disappointing villain since General Grievous."

"Why can't you ever just stay home!" Drakken whined. "Why can't you- hey what are you doing!"

Ron knelt beside Drakken and reached into a pocket and produced a wallet. He opened it and began looking through the bills inside.

"Ron?" Kim wondered. "What are you doing?"

"His check bounced." Ron explained.

"What the? Are you robbing me?" Drakken asked.

"You owe me money!"

"Come on Ron, you're better than this." Kim told him. "You're a good guy now, remember? Can't you let it go?"

Ron looked at Kim, then back at the money, then back at her. He closed the wallet and dropped it down beside Drakken.

"Yeah… you're right." He admitted.

A sudden explosion tore through the wall sending chunks of concrete into the room. When the smoke cleared the three conscious people saw a squad of Global Justice agents enter the room with weapons in their hands. They scanned the room and saw that the threats were taken care of. A few of the agents went to go secure Shego and the henchmen. The three remaining agents walked up to the teens and Drakken.

"Yay. The cavalry arrived just in time." Ron said sarcastically.

"Dr. Drakken, you will be coming with us." Commander Burns said firmly.

One of the two agents accompanying Burns handcuffed Drakken and led him away. Burns then turned to Kim and Ron.

"Where did you guys come from?" Kim asked.

"We were the backup plan." Burns explained. "We stayed behind you and out of sight, and out of range of Drakken's radar. Since we hadn't heard from Drakken we figured you took care of him and it was safe to show ourselves. Now we're here to secure the area."

"Oh."

"You did well. Congratulations."

The two teens were confused and looked at each other for an explanation. Neither had one.

"Thank you. I'm surprised at how well you're treating _amateurs_ like us."

Burns let out a quiet laugh as he turned and nodded to the agent next to him. The agent produced another pair of handcuffs.

"Ron Stoppable, by order of Dr. Director, I am taking you into custody."


	20. Chapter 20

Authors Note: And here it is, the last chapter. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, and to everyone who came back after the long break I took from writing this story. I'm really happy so many people have enjoyed it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.

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XXXXXXXXXX

Kim was too stunned to react when she heard the words of Commander Burns. It was only when the other agent took hold of Ron and cuffed his hands behind his back that she realized what was going on. She immediately made a move toward Ron, but was stopped when the two Global Justice agents turned their attention to her. Their intent was made clear by their body language.

"What do you think you're doing!" Kim yelled.

"This boy is a criminal. He's under arrest." Burns replied.

"What are you talking about? He just helped me stop Drakken!"

"This time."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Burns walked directly in front of Kim and stared into her eyes.

"We did a little research on Mr. Stoppable's background." He explained. "It turns out he wasn't always your sidekick. In fact, he only became your sidekick the night we found him bleeding in Seattle."

A chill ran down Kim's spine. She knew exactly what they had found. They knew at least some of what she knew, and that was that Ron used to be a mercenary for supervillains. At this point she decided to continue denying it hoping that they didn't know too much.

"I know you hate me, but there's no reason for you to go around making up lies like-"

"Don't you dare lecture me on lying when you're telling me one to my face!" He roared.

Kim was taken aback by the sudden outburst of anger. She blinked a few times and struggled to regain her thoughts on the subject.

Burns continued staring at her. After a few seconds he was satisfied that Kim hadn't said anything and continued to tell her what he knew.

"We know that Mr. Stoppable is guilty of several incidents of breaking and entering and theft. We also know that the items that he stole wound up in the hands of villains, including Dr. Drakken. While he was smart enough to somehow disable the security cameras in the buildings themselves, he could do nothing about the cameras at traffic intersections, banks, and so on."

Kim didn't say anything and instead looked at Ron. He hadn't said a thing since he had been handcuffed. It was as if he knew that there was nothing he could say or do to convince the men that he was innocent.

Finally though Ron looked at Kim and spoke.

"Tell the truth Kim." He said. "There's no reason for both of us to go down." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "Besides, we both know you're a terrible liar."

Somehow he had managed to smile weakly with his last statement. But Kim couldn't bring herself to do the same. This was no time for joking or laughing.

"Okay…" She said uneasily. "Ron used to be a criminal. But he's done with that now. He has been since you first met him. He really is my partner now."

Burns just scoffed.

"Irrelevant. I have personally shown Dr. Director the evidence against him. He is to be taken to our headquarters where he will have an opportunity to explain his actions to her. I doubt it will do any good though."

There was a question that Kim wanted to know the answer to, but was hesitant to ask. However, she knew she had to ask.

"What's going to happen to him if he's found guilty?"

"That will be up to her."

"What do you think will happen?"

Burns pondered the question for a few seconds.

"If I had my way, he would be locked away in a Global Justice prison for a few decades. He was a major threat to society, and the world is lucky that nothing catastrophic happened because of his stupidity." He paused before continuing. "But since he's a minor, I imagine that Dr. Director will only make the sentence five to ten years."

"Five to ten years?!" Ron yelled.

"Consider yourself lucky that you'll be out before you're thirty."

"You guys can't do this! I'm a good guy now!"

"For now. What happens when you go back to stealing for criminals?"

"He's not going to do that!" Kim said.

"And how do you know that?" Burns sneered. "You've only known the boy for a few weeks. How well do you really know him?"

"We may not go way back, but that doesn't mean that I haven't gotten to know him well. The friend I know isn't the criminal I met on a mission."

"And he will have his hearing." Burns said before turning to the other agent. "Take him to the jet. We're leaving."

The two men and Ron began walking toward the hole that was blown in the wall. Kim followed immediately after and spoke up once more.

"Then I'm coming with you." She said firmly. "I'm not going to let my friend and partner go through this alone."

Burns turned back to her as the other agent continued leading Ron toward the exit.

"Then I'm afraid you'll have to take the jet that you came here on, as was your original plan. Ours is full."

He turned once more and walked off without waiting for Kim to respond.

Kim immediately grabbed her kimmunicator and contacted Wade. She explained what had just happened and told him to get the other hover jet to the lair immediately. If she couldn't be onboard the same one as Ron, she was determined to make sure she got to Global Justice's headquarters when he did. As long as she had the opportunity she would defend him and try to make everyone see that he had changed.

She ran out to the sandy coast of the island lair to see that there was a jet already there. It was larger than the one she and Ron had come on. Dr. Drakken, Shego, and the three henchmen were being loaded into it by four of the agents. Commander Burns and the sixth agent were taking Ron toward it. Kim growled in frustration as she knew that she wouldn't be boarding it as well. She would have to wait a few minutes for the other craft to pick her up.

XXXXXXXXXX

Ron sat on a hard metal bench alongside the very villains that he had just helped defeat. By now all had regained consciousness, and were all handcuffed like he was. The only exception was Shego, who had a specially designed pair covering her hands to prevent her from using her energy to break free.

Drakken turned and looked at Ron and noticed that his hands were behind his back. He couldn't help but laugh.

"This is delicious!" He reveled. "Seeing the boy who helped defeat me in custody is really helping to lift my spirits!"

"Shut up." Ron bit back.

"Look I don't know what you did to deserve this but I don't care! If I'm going down then I'm glad you are too!"

"How can you not remember him?" Shego interjected. "You hired him a few different times. And I cut him open."

Drakken thought for a few moments before the memories finally came back to him.

"Yes! That's right!" He exclaimed. "You were the one who stole the disc with the robotic designs on it."

"That would be me."

"And then you tried to stop me from acquiring the laser!"

"That too."

"I still don't understand why you wanted to stop me. After all, I was paying you to help me."

"No you weren't!"

"Excuse me boy, but I happen to have a great memory." Drakken gloated. "I remember I paid you well for both tasks."

"Your check bounced the first time!" Ron screamed. "And I wasn't even working for you the second time!"

"Keep talking kid, this is all very helpful." One of the agents said as he pointed what appeared to be a handheld recording device at Ron.

Ron immediately switched topics.

"I want a lawyer." He said.

"We don't care." Burn told him.

"You have to. I want my phone call."

"Again, we don't care."

"You're breaking the law by denying me this."

"And why should I care about what a criminal like you says about breaking the law?"

Ron went silent.

"And furthermore, Global Justice is not under the jurisdiction of the United States Justice Department. Your rights mean nothing to us."

Ron felt himself swallow hard when he heard these words. If what Burns was saying was true, he didn't like where this was going.

"But you have given me a rather… interesting idea." Burns said as he reached for his phone.

Ron didn't know what to think of the last statement.

For the rest of the ride Ron didn't say a word. Even when the numerous people around him addressed him he said nothing. He didn't want to give the Global Justice agents anything that they could use against him. He also didn't want to encourage Dr. Drakken to mock him. Until they got to their destination, Ron thought about what he could possibly say to help him get out of this situation.

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Kim's ride arrived a few minutes after the one Ron was on had taken off. She got aboard quickly and told the pilot to head back to his headquarters rather than her house.

When Rufus saw that Kim had come aboard without Ron he immediately dashed over to her and began squeaking. She could only look down at him in sadness. When he began clawing at her pants leg she spoke.

"Look Rufus… Ron's okay. But he's in trouble."

The rodent reacted to the words and became more frantic in his clawing before looking back up at her.

"They arrested him. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm going to try to help him."

Rufus became a bit calmer when Kim had spoken about trying to help.

"I don't really know what I'm going to say…" She began before coming to a realization. "And I don't know why I'm even talking to you about it. It's not like you can understand me."

Rufus jumped around trying to tell her that he knew exactly what she was saying. Obviously it had no meaning to Kim who just sighed before continuing.

"I guess I just need to talk to someone about it." She continued. "And I doubt the pilot cares enough to listen. So you're all I've got."

Kim continued talking on and off until she reached the headquarters. Rufus for the most part sat on her leg and listened intently. She decided that there was only one thing she could do, and that was speak on behalf of him to Dr. Director. The head of Global Justice was one of the only people in the organization that didn't hate her. In fact she liked Kim. Kim could only hope that their good relationship would mean something when it came to helping Ron.

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When Kim arrived at the headquarters complex she had spoken to a senior officer and had been allowed to speak to Ron while he was being held in the detention center. She was escorted by an agent to the area. She noticed how this area of the building was so much more primitive than the rest of it. Where the other sections of the complex were brightly lit, shiny, and had massive amounts of electronics, the prison area was very plain. It was made mostly of painted brick walls and cold steel bars.

She found Ron lying on a bed in one of the cells. He was silent as he lay facing the ceiling. She ran up to the bars.

"Ron!"

He turned his head to find Kim moving next to his cell. He quickly got up and stood next to her.

"Kim I'm so happy you're here!"

The two looked at each other through the bars not quite knowing what to say. After a few seconds Kim was the first to speak.

"I'm going to help you get out of here." She told him.

"How are you going to do that?" He wondered.

"I have a pretty good relationship with Dr. Director. I'm going to defend you in the hearing."

"Yeah, about that. Am I the only one who's upset about my constitutional rights being violated?"

"I know… it's kind of weird."

"I demand to speak with a lawyer!" Ron shouted to the guard who was manning the door at the end of the hall.

"Yelling at him won't solve anything." She told him. "Right now we need to keep our heads in the game. We need to come up with a plan."

"I got nothing."

"Ron, that's quitter talk."

"I should have stuck to video games…" He said. "Kim?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't really like admitting things like this… but I'm scared."

Kim was seeing a side of Ron that she had never witnessed before. When she had first met him he was confident and arrogant. Once they had become friends, he had lowered his defenses and she had seen the fun and goofy side of him. And now he was showing another part of himself. He was showing weakness and fear. It wasn't an aspect of him that she was used to. She was determined to help him.

"We still have time before the hearing. We can come up with a defense for you."

Another voice entered the conversation.

"I think this man will be the one to do that for you." The voice said.

The teens turned to see Burns walking toward them with another man by his side. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a purple tie, and his brown hair was combed neatly.

"Who's the new guy?" Ron asked.

"Well Mr. Stoppable, I decided that you were right."

"I was what now?"

"You do deserve the opportunity to have a lawyer." Burns explained. "So I called and got you one. That is if you want him."

"I do!" Ron confirmed.

"Good. I'll leave the three of you alone to get acquainted."

The Global Justice agent turned and left. The lawyer came up to the cell and reached in to shake Ron's hand.

"Hank Perkins, attorney at law." He said. "Don't you worry about a thing Mr. Stoppable, you're in good hands with me."

"I am?" Ron said hopefully.

"Absolutely Mr. Stoppable! No doubt in my mind."

"This is great Ron!" Kim said excitedly.

"I'm confident that we'll be able to do great things together. We're going to sue them for every penny they're worth!"

"Yeah!" Ron agreed. "Wait, what?"

"We're going to sue Commander Burns. We're going to sue Global Justice. We're going to sue the state. In total I think we can get you about $99 million from them. How does that sound Mr. Stoppable? How would you like to have $99 million in your pocket?"

The expressions on Kim and Ron's faces turned from elation to horror. Ron looked at her and then buried his face in his hands.

"I'm so screwed." He said bleakly.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was about an hour later that Ron's hearing with Dr. Director began. He along with Kim and Hank were escorted to a room which vaguely resembled a courtroom. The three of them sat at a large table on the left side of the room, with another table on the right side where Burns was sitting. A few feet in front of them Dr. Director sat at a third smaller table which was facing them. The door closed behind them, and an armed guard stood next to it.

"Ms. Possible." Dr. Director said when she saw the redheaded teen enter. "I'm happy to see you again, though the circumstances aren't what one would call ideal."

"Good to see you again too, Dr. Director." Kim replied.

"I understand you will be speaking on behalf of Mr. Stoppable."

"That's right. I feel that my experiences with him over the past several weeks are worth taking into consideration in this hearing."

"Very well. I should remind you though that this isn't a trial. There is no jury, only me."

"I understand."

"If you're ready, Commander Burns would like to present his statement."

Kim looked over to the other table. The Global Justice officer stood with a few pieces of paper in his hands and turned to look at Dr. Director. But before he could speak Hank stood up and started talking.

"I would like to make it clear that neither my client nor myself recognize the authority of this courtroom." He stated.

"Mr. Perkins, please take your seat." Dr. Director told him.

Hank sat down with a smug smile on his face. He turned to Ron and brought his head close to his.

"Don't worry kid, we've got 'em on the ropes." He whispered into Ron's ear.

Ron sighed quietly.

"Dr. Director," Burns began. "I have already presented overwhelming evidence to you which proves that Mr. Stoppable was involved in numerous crimes. He is responsible for the theft of countless dangerous and valuable items that he then delivered into the hands of supervillains. It's not hard to see that this boy is a danger to society. It is my opinion that he should be punished for his crimes and rehabilitated before being released back into the public."

"Objection!" Hank screamed as he stood.

Everyone in the room turned to look at him.

"Mr. Perkins, there's nothing you can object to."

"So you're sustaining it right?"

"Please sit down now."

Hank once more took his seat before he turned to the other table.

"Yeah, that's what you get." He said quietly to Burns.

"Please continue." Dr. Director said to the Global Justice officer.

"While Ms. Possible claims that he is 'good' now, I find that hard to believe. The friendship of Ms. Possible and Mr. Stoppable is nothing special. For all we know this is just an act on his part and will continue committing crimes in the future. And even if he doesn't he still must face justice for what he has already done."

Burns sat down and was confident that his statement along with the earlier evidence would be more than enough to ensure that Ron was imprisoned for the next few years.

Dr. Director finished writing a few notes on a piece of paper in front of her before looking up at Ron.

"Mr. Stoppable, do you have anything you would like to say in your defense?"

Ron stood and was about to speak before Hank stood and spoke first.

"Ms. Director, I would like to say that this is an outrage. The way my client has been treated since his arrest is nothing short of a travesty. This whole operation is nothing but a sham. I understand that Mr. Stoppable was not even read the Miranda Rights. I have prepared a list of case precedents which will no doubt prove that my client is either innocent or will get this case dismissed as a mistrial."

"Mr. Perkins, Global Justice is a completely separate-"

"Miranda v. Arizona! Brown v. Board of Education! Marvel v. Capcom!" Hank began shouting.

"One more nonsensical outburst out of you and you will be removed from this room."

Hank stared hard at Dr. Director's face and his eyes narrowed at her threat.

"Roe v. Wade." He said.

"That's it. Get him out of here."

The guard grabbed hold of Hank's arm and began leading him toward the exit. The lawyer struggled to free himself as he turned and looked back at Dr. Director.

"Get him off of me! You can't do this! I'll sue you! I'll sue all of you!" He screamed as he continued to led out of the room. "I have friends in the Temp Agency!"

The door closed and the shouts of the lawyer grew fainter until they finally stopped. Ron turned to Kim.

"I'm so happy he's gone." He told her.

"No doubt." She agreed.

"Where were we…" Dr. Director said. "Mr. Stoppable, would you like to say something?"

Ron stood slowly with his hands behind his back and cleared his throat. Kim looked at his hands and saw that they were trembling.

"Dr. Director, I'm not too good with words so I'll just say this. Um, I know I've done a lot of bad things. I didn't really think they were wrong back then but I do now. I really am sorry for it all."

Ron took a deep breath and thought over what he was going to say next.

"I messed up. But I've changed. I really have. Kim will tell you that. I've been spending a lot of time with her lately and she even made me her partner. I mean, I have a hard time believing it myself but it's true. I just… I just hope that you see that even though I've made a lot of bad choices that I'm trying to make things right."

With that, Ron took a seat and awaited Dr. Director's response.

"Ms. Possible, would you like to add anything to that?"

"Yes ma'am."

Kim stood up and looked at the older woman.

"Ron and I haven't known each other for a long time, but we already have a lot of history together. When I first met him, yes, he was a criminal. He did work for supervillains. But that's all in the past now. He has changed for the better. I would know because I saw that change firsthand."

The room was silent as she went on.

"It started on a mission in Seattle. I was fighting against Shego and things were starting to look a bit ugly. Then Ron, who could have easily escaped with stolen information, stopped and came back to help me. In the process he was severely wounded by Shego. It was that night that I lied and said he was my partner."

Kim's gaze didn't waver for a moment as she continued to look at Dr. Director.

"Over the next few weeks we were forced to spend a lot of time together both in and out of school. I got to know him on a personal level rather than professional. He's a sweet and caring guy. He's made wrong decisions, but who hasn't? At least he's trying to atone for them now. He's doing good things. He saved me from Lord Montgomery Fiske, who as it turns out is some freaky monkey obsessed criminal. He was a huge reason the mission today was a success. I don't know if I could have been able to do it without him."

She paused as she thought about the last part of her statement. It wasn't something she liked talking about.

"And… a few days ago he helped me with something very personal. He didn't have to help me but he chose to because he's a good person. That's when we started to become friends. And over the past few days, I would say that he's becoming my best friend. While he did do some bad things, there's no doubt in my mind that the good in him, the good that he's done, the good that he will do, far outweighs the bad. Thank you."

Kim sat down next to Ron who looked at her in amazement.

Dr. Director finished writing and looked up at the two parties.

"I would like to thank all three of you for your statements. If there's nothing else-"

Dr. Director was cut off as the door opened. Another Global Justice agent entered the room. It was Will Du.

"Agent Du, may I ask what you're doing here?"

"I would like to make a statement in this hearing." He said.

"I have no objections to this." Burns smiled.

"Aw crap." Ron said softly.

"Very well." Dr. Director said. "You may continue, agent Du."

Will moved to stand between the two tables.

"I met Mr. Stoppable once in England." He said. "I was flying him home after dropping Ms. Possible off at Lord Fiske's mansion. Mr. Stoppable insisted that we had to turn around to help her with something. I honestly didn't care much about what he was saying. It was then that he used some foul smelling chemical to knock me unconscious. He took control of the hover jet and crash-landed it back near the mansion."

Burns grinned with every word that Will was saying. This would only make Ron look even worse.

"When I had recovered I found that both Mr. Stoppable and Ms. Possible were responsible for the arrest of who we now know as Monkey Fist. I didn't know this at the time and was angry at what had been done to me. I struck Mr. Stoppable in the face. But I have since learned the details of this incident, and know that Ron's actions, while illegal, were done out of virtuous motives. This is my only experience with the boy, and this is all that I have to say about him."

Burn's grin turned to a grimace and his heart sunk when he heard Will begin to speak well about Ron.

After a few moments of silence Dr. Director once again spoke.

"Thank you agent Du." She said. "I have decided on Mr. Stoppable's sentence."

Ron's heart was thumping harder than he could ever remember. He was shivering and his hands were cold and clammy.

Despite the fact that it wasn't her fate that was about to be decided, Kim was experiencing the same things as Ron. She could only hope that the words she had said had been enough.

"Ron Stoppable," Dr. Director began. "I am sentencing you to three hundred hours of community service, and a probation period of twelve months."

"What?" Ron said hopefully.

"What!" Burns said furiously.

"While the arguments against you are no doubt strong, so are the ones for you. You have done many bad things, but you have also done good things. And I am inclined to agree with Ms. Possible about your new and changed life. And spending time more time with her, both as her friend and as her partner, can only help you to continue to improve as a person. Being with her will do far more good than being locked away in a Global Justice prison."

"You mean I'm not going to jail?" Ron asked.

"That is correct." She told him. "You will perform three hundred hours of community service before the end of your upcoming summer vacation. You will also be on probation for twelve months. Any criminal activity during this time will be met with severe consequences. Are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" Ron said excitedly.

"Good. This hearing is over."

Dr. Director stood up and exited the room, followed shortly after by an enraged Burns.

Ron didn't quite know what to do, so he jumped up and wrapped Kim in a huge hug.

"Thank you so much!" He said.

They came apart before Kim responded.

"You're welcome. I'm really happy you're not going to jail."

"Yeah." He said before pausing for a moment. "Did you really mean all those nice things you said about me?"

"Of course I did. Every word."

"Oh. Thanks. I'm glad I mean so much to you… because… well, you really mean a lot to me too."

"Thanks Ron."

The moment was interrupted when Will cleared his throat. The two teens turned to look at the Global Justice agent.

"Hey Will. Thank you for what you said about me." Ron told him.

"I told nothing but the truth." Will replied coolly.

"And I thought you said you weren't going to report the jet incident. And the punch."

"I changed my mind."

"Oh. Well I'm glad you did. Thanks."

"You have a good heart." Will said. "You're an idiot, but you have a good heart."

The agent walked off after saying this leaving Kim and Ron alone together.

"Wow…" Ron said. "This day has been full of surprises, hasn't it?"

"Yeah." Kim laughed. "So much drama. But I guess it all worked out in the end right?"

"I guess so. But wow, three hundred hours of community service? How am I going to do all that? It's already the middle of April, and I have to get it done before summer vacation ends?"

"You can do some work with me."

"Wait wait wait, you actually do community service voluntarily?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's a teen hero thing." She smiled.

"I guess I still have to get used to that stuff."

"Yup. Ever hear of the Sunshine Spreaders?"

"Nope."

"It's some work I do a couple times a week. If we do two or three hours a day from now until the end of summer we'll have it done in no time."

"You would be willing to spend all that time with me doing that?"

"Of course. What are friends for?"

"Thanks KP."

Ron pulled her into another tight embrace. This lasted several seconds longer than the prior one.

"_This feels pretty nice."_ Kim thought warmly.

A moment later her eyes opened at what she had thought, and realized that her head was resting on his shoulder.

"_Wait, what?"_

XXXXXXXXXX

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I can imagine a lot of you aren't too thrilled that the story is ending on Kim's new thought. But this doesn't necessarily mean the end of this universe. I've already thought of a few ideas for a potential sequel.

Thanks again for reading.


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